Medieval German Christian mystics referred to a way of life in which one "let go of ego and surrender oneself completely to God" as "Gelassenheit," and Japanese Christians use the Zen word "放下(Houge)" to translate this term.

When the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) gave a lecture entitled "Liberation (Gelassenheit)" in his hometown of Messkirch to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the birth of the local composer Conradin Kreutzer (1780-1849).

According to Heidegger, "Gelassenheit" means an attitude in which humans maintain an equal distance from all the things they encounter in this world and are not at all distracted by them, and he says that this "simple and peaceful" attitude leads humans to the hidden meaning of this world.

As Heidegger himself states, the word "Gelassenheit" comes from one of the fundamental terms of Meister Eckhart's mystical thought. However, Alain de Libera, a French historian of medieval philosophy, points out that a strict distinction must be made between Heidegger's "Gelassenheit" and Eckhart's "Gelassenheit."「離脱・放下」攷(一)A Study of "Abegescheidenheit and Gelassenheit" Chapter 1 https://blog.goo.ne.jp/kmomoji1010/e/07cbbd1acf58001feb45ccd344b1af6a

According to theologian Mr. Naoki Kuwabara(桑原直己1954-), professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba, "Gelassenheit" of the medieval mystic Eckhartt means detachment from everything other than God, discarding one's attributes as a created being, and becoming one with God. He said that humans can become one with God by breaking the finiteness of all created things through "Gelassenheit," that is, the annihilation of the self, and described this unity between humans and God as "the birth of the Word (= Christ, the Son of God) at the very core of the soul." (“Bridal mysticism” and “Essence mysticism”)

Once upon a time, there was a Brahmin monk called Kurikara, who had learned four rupajhana (4 meditations of form) and got five divine powers (divine eyes, ears, and feet and abilities to read others' hearts and fates) and is said to be the incarnation of the black dragon, in India. Indra and Devil (the supreme god and the king of hell in India respectively) are also said to have had admiration for his sermon.

However, Devil began to cry after listening his sermon and told him, "Your sermon is too good. I can not accept that you have only another 7 days' life and will have to come to hell under me." Kurikara heard this and was depressed. But an angel taught that Gautama Buddha, who had recently attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, would solve his worry. Kurikara immediately visited Buddha with flowers of Firmiana (parasoltree) in both hands and with great glee.

Looking intently at Kurikara, Buddha said, "Put down (the word also means relinquish or donate), put down." So Kurikara put the flowers on both sides of Buddha accordingly. But Buddha again said, "Put down, put down." Kurikara was puzzled and asked, "I don't have anything in my hands now. What do you ask me to put down?" Then Buddha preached, "I do not ask you to give me flowers, but ask you to put your front and back, inside and outside, all of them down. If you relinquish 6 dusts (appearance, sound, smell, taste, touch, dharma) of your outside, six sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) in your inside and six consciousnesses (recognitions through the 6 dusts and the six sense organs) within you and once you have nothing to relinquish, then you can transcend both life and death and obtain eternal life." ≪Kurikara Dragon Sutra≫

Later in Tang Dynasty of China, a monk named YanYang asked ZhaoZhou CongShen (778-897), one of the great Zen masters, "When not a single thing is brought, then what?" Like Buddha, ZhaoZhou answered, "Put it down." YanYang also like Kurikara asked again, "I say, I don't bring a single thing, what should I put down?" ZhaoZhou said, "Then carry it out." ≪Book of Serenity: Case 57≫

According to the dialectic of the Gospel of John,

How then can a man possess eternal life?

When he said, "You are Huichao," Zen Master Fayan thrusted vivid Self in Huichao in front of his eyes.