Last night we had a visit from John Tarrant Roshi, my teacher James Ford Roshi's teacher. John's primary teacher, Robert Aitken, pictured above, died on Friday. John told us some beautiful stories about Aitken Roshi, someone whose books and life have been an inspiration to me for many years. He sounded, from the stories, like a lovely and complicated human being. I found myself so grateful to be in this amazing Zen lineage. I don't know what exactly gets passed on in Zen transmission, but I like having Bob Aitken as my Dharma great-grandfather.
When we just dedicated our Sesshin to our Dharma Grandfather, Aitken Roshi, I too was in awe and wonder, being part of this lineage. The ravens were a most notable company this particular Sesshin. No doubt, Zen Master Raven was indeed perched in one of the trees nearby, keeping us awake with his Kawwing, watching out over his Sangha's continual practice of perfection, polishing our hearts of compassion.
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