I was a Dharma Brat as they called the Shambhala kids at the time. My parents taught me about meditation, about good head and shoulders, my inner Buddha nature and compassion- basic ideas that instilled in me an awareness of the world around me. I remember clearly learning about “The Gap”, the space your mind can have when it truly settles, thoughts fade away, and a single moment of nothing arises, before thoughts quickly carry it away again. This gap, when trained, could become longer, and longer, less attachment and more openness. When confronted with emotions, this tiny gap could allow one to have the choice of what to do next, instead of simply reacting. The knee-jerk impulse could be replaced with awareness. A tiny moment of nothing, just space that frees us from ourselves and the constant turbulence we have in our minds. As someone whose mouth and actions often move faster than his brain, this teaching has stayed with me always. It wasn’t until this week that I heard another teacher speak about this, as as it happens, it was Karmapa himself.
Here in KIBI, Karmapa spoke at great length about the space between thoughts. The space around them, the intermingling of texture and color that flows in and around that space, if you train your mind to notice. This was taking the gap idea and going much further and deeper. Instead of simply finding a space, he spoke about contemplating and exploring that space. Not simply noticing it, but engaging with it. What was it like? Did it have color? What does it feel like? He spoke about casting a mental net, and seeing what was caught in it, and what passed through, all though the idea of this “gap”. That which was stuck in the net, what was it like? What surrounds it?
I will admit I cannot completely wrap my head around this, but Karmapa’s words brought back a lot of feelings from my childhood. I felt extreme gratitude to my parents for raising me with such profound ideas, cleverly camouflaged as “normal parent stuff”. This was done with such care that I could absorb some small part, perhaps only the essence, when my mind was young and spongey. It made me realize I speak to my son this way too, when he gets frustrated we both take a deep breath- wait a few moments- and we talk about why he feels that way. This is deeply in me, planted in my subconscious, I wish the same for him. Later on I will teach him about the gap if he wishes, I’m sure he’ll have a better understanding of such teachings than his father does. He will surely become a far better meditator than me, he gets that from his mother, and who knows, perhaps one day he will investigate and explore the texture, color and flow of the space between.
KIBI - Karmapa International Buddhist Institute
