I only met Bernie Glassman a couple of times, and briefly got to know his second wife Sandra Jishu Holmes when we took the same mindfulness training course with Jon Kabat-Zinn. She was a delightful and quiet person, and before her untimely death she and Bernie Roshi founded Zen Peacemakers together.
I've been an admirer of Bernie Roshi for many years, and I'm both sad at his passing, on November 4, and inspired by his life and teachings. He was able to bring together sincere Zen practice rooted in awakening, a sense of humor and play, and a dedication to bringing Zen into all aspects of life. His street retreats, where Zen students got a taste of homelessness, his retreats at Auschwitz, and his work with helping real street people find right livelihood through setting up a bakery in Yonkers, NY, are a few examples of his capacity to find the awakened heart everywhere. Here are two very different obituaries on his life and death, one from Lion's Roar, and one from the New York Times.
https://www.lionsroar.com/bernie-glassman-pioneer-of-american-zen-dies-at-79/
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/23/obituaries/bernard-glassman-dead.html
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