I studied in seminary for years with some of the world's great Biblical scholars. I read the Bible in Hebrew and Greek. I took many courses in Christian history, philosophy, theology. They provided lots of data about the Jesus of history, and lots of speculations about his coming in the future, but these teachings never answered the one question of real importance for a Christian: how can I experience Christ in this very moment?
I did service work in prisons, mental hospitals and homeless shelters. I actually ran a shelter for families. I looked for Christ in the poor and the hungry and the sick. This work brought me closer to his countenance than studying books! But still, I did not actually meet Christ in person, touch his radiance, or experience the substance of his Being. So I kept asking the Christian koan: where is Christ right now?
Through a simple meditation practice, taught by a guru from India, I found the answer.
At this very moment, Christ is in samadhi. In fact, Christ is samadhi. Sama means same, unchanging. Dhi means enlivened consciousness. Samadhi is the sparkling clarity of pure awareness aware of itself. That is Christ. He is the seamless subject who underlies this entire objective creation, the Logos out of whose silent unity the world appears in all its diverse forms. Christ is the radiance of our own consciousness.
Christ does not redeem the world by his birth, his death on the cross, or his rising from the tomb. Christ redeems the world by resting in what is not born, what cannot die, what never departs. Christ heals the world through presence, enfolding the earth in compassion, immersing all creatures in the bliss of his deathless samadhi.
With every breath I take, Christ is born in me. And when I rest in deep meditation, I am reborn in Christ. To experience Christ as my own samadhi is his Second Coming.
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