Breath Inside the Breath

…the present is the leaky palm of water that we skim from the swift, silent river slipping by…—Dana Gioia

We often talk about being in the moment as if it is an actual place to be. This is like saying the moment we step into a stream, time somehow stops so we can savor it. This is, of course, a foolish notion. I remember one of my grad school professors who taught “ecosystemology” saying that the word commonly used to refer to a balanced system, homeostasis, was more precisely, homeodynamic. Nothing is static in nature, nor in our mind.

My Buddhist teachers suggested we do not try to stop the movement of thought, but rather notice thoughts from a quiet place. Also, if one finds the mind settle into a quiet place without so much thought, notice the dynamic ever-changing movement. So being in the moment is like being in the river and listening to what it teaches from an innate sense of presence. This is called rigpa in the Tibetan Buddhist language.

Rigpa, or “pure and total presence,” is the ground of our perception, the light of the wisdom mind free from obscurations. It is neither static nor in motion, but pervades both. Rigpa allows for whatever seems to arise to arise, as well as to cease. Think of breathing. We breathe in and out but do not believe either part of the breath is better or worse. It is just breath doing its thing and is continuous with the wind moving through all natural phenomena. So you could say that being in the moment is simple as breathing—and being present to the dynamic flow. 

Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God? [It] is the breath inside the breath. — Kabir