In this issue:
The jazz singer Joe Williams said that when he started to sing with the Count Basie band, Count Basie told him to “leave spaces” when he sang. In the context of music, “leaving spaces” means phrasing groups of notes in ways that incorporate rests. This provides quiet moments that help the musician to be more thoughtful and concise, and the listener to more deeply absorb and appreciate the message(s) that the composer and musicians are trying to convey. From this point of view, the moments of silence in music are every bit as important as the moments in which a sound is being created and perceived.
“Leave spaces” has meaning beyond the arts. When we sit down in simple meditation and allow our attention to draw to a still point underneath the flow of thoughts, perceptions, and feelings, we are “leaving spaces.” Now our attention is gently drawn to a deeper spiritual Place where there is plenty of spiritual space. Indeed, when meditation goes very deep, there is a sense of infinite vastness.
In the midst of daily activity, we “leave spaces” whenever we pause to re-center ourselves. In this pausing we are finding spaces within the temporal flow of our experience by relaxing into the present moment and (spiritually, if not physically) bowing in acceptance.
We can also “leave spaces” by grounding ourselves spiritually so that we are not swept up in the opposites of like and dislike, hope and despair, fear and recklessness, self-hatred and egomania. This “space between the opposites” is the spiritual Place of equanimity. Taken as a whole, the Precepts of Buddhism constitute both a description of what it is like to live in this Place of equanimity, and a way to train ourselves in daily life so as to find It and hold fast to It.
When we are full of self, we need to leave space for the Eternal. Our accomplishments and our failures are not the center of the universe. Indeed, they are not true realities at all. Just by remembering this truth and acting in accordance with it, we leave space for the Eternal in our lives.
In the Immaculacy that is the reality of all existence, there is nothing lacking, nothing to be gained. It is always perfect just as It is, and It is always right here. Yet if we try to cling to Immaculacy, It is nowhere to be found. The key to training in Immaculacy is to leave spaces so that It can show Itself to us and guide us. We never have to run after That which is always with us. Immaculacy is not something to be attained—It is something to be cherished. Those who value It above everything else, come to know It. We cherish It by leaving spaces for It.