Eckhart’s Thought of Spirituality and Its Implications for Education: A Relationship between Vita Contemplativa and Vita Activa

Abstract

오늘날 교육이 과도한 경쟁적 분위기 속에서 개인적 욕망실현이나 사회적 필요의 충족을 위한 수단으로 간주되는 것은 교육에서 관조적 삶과 활동적 삶의 조화와 균형이 상실된 데 기인한다. 에크하르트의 영성 사상은 그 양자의 관계에 관한 대안적 관점을 시사한다. 그의 사상에서 인간 영혼은 그 근저에서 신을 알 수 있고, 또 신과 합일을 이룰 수 있는 존재로 간주된다. 신과의 합일은 곧 영성의 실현이요, 그 과정에서 기준이 되는 것이 ‘초탈’이다. ‘초탈’에는 인간 영혼이 신의 근저로 이행하는 ‘돌파’와 함께 ‘영혼 안에서의 신의 탄생’이라는 의미가 포함된다. 초탈은 자기애, 자기 집착, 온갖 욕망에서 벗어나고, 모든 피조물에게서 심지어는 신의 관념에서조차 벗어나 그 어떠한 것의 영향도 받지 않는 철저한 비움, 버림의 과정과 그것이 완결된 경지를 가리킨다. ‘초탈’의 경지에서 사람은 ‘이유 없이’ 그리고 ‘수단 없이’ 사는 삶, 관조와 활동이 조화를 이루는 삶을 영위할 수 있다. ‘앎의 교사’인 동시에 ‘삶의 교사’인 에크하르트의 사상은 그러한 삶의 가능성을 보여주며, 현대 교육이 관조의 망각에서 벗어나도록 촉구한다.Today education suffers from the Vita Activa s overwhelming victory over the Vita Contemplativa. Education has been regarded as means of fulfillment of personal desires and social needs for long. Consequently students compete each other excessively and do not have opportunities to learn the value of mutual corporation in their class. Eckhart’ thought of spirituality implies an alternative view point to escape from this predicament. Eckhart says that each person has his soul s own ground, where one’s spirituality is rooted in God’s ground. The two can be united in one, rather they are essentially the same. Eckhart urges us to maintain ‘detachment(Abgeschiedenheit)’, toward the only one purpose, that is, the unity of God and man. ‘Detachment’ can be characterized as the absolute negativity of emptiness and abandonment, which is not affected by anything other than divinity, such as self-love, self-obsession, all desires. A person who has reached the status of ‘detatchment’ does not act as a means for any purpose, but lives a life ‘without reason.’ ‘Detachment’ includes the ‘breakthrough(Durchbruch)’and ‘birth of God in spirit(Gottesgeburt in der Seele)’ as its essential components of meaning. Eckhart’ thought of spirituality suggests the better way of understanding the relationship between Vita Contemplativa and Vita Activa. That relationship can be seen as one of possibility and reality, beginning and end, bud and fruit, creation and existence. They belong to each other, widen each other, and penetrate each other. In his interpretation of the story about Maria and Marta, the latter is a more mature person who lives a life of action that flows from contemplation, but the former symbolized the merely contemplative life. The meaning of contemplation is satisfied and fullfilled only in a active life. But this interpretation presupposes that an action without contemplation is nothing other than a meaningless abstraction. Eckhart’ thought of spirituality can serve as a mirror and a corrective for the modern wave of educational thoughts which has been overwhelmed by instrumentalism. It urges us to know and recover our divine nature in our educational practice.