To my dearest root guru, Since I took refuge in the buddha, dharma and sangha by your ordination at the Town Hall in Barnet ,Vt. in 1973 and then when you received my bodhisattva vows in 1975. Culminating and confirming our connection when you bestowed upon me vajrayana transmission in 1982. I've consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the rare pleasure to personally sit in the presence of your animated countenance, your crazy wisdom and your sincere and delightfully playful humor. It was your exquisite brilliance that intrigued me from the very first time that Connie Berman pushed me a very shy and reserved 20yr old with numerous reservations into a private audience with you at Tail of the Tiger. If I remember correctly it was sometime in 1972. I do remember thereafter my encounters became quite deliberate. Especially when you let go of referring to me only as Robin Kornman's cousin. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to have lived, worked and studied as staff at Tail of the Tiger, now Karmê Chöling and also Maitri then residing in Sherman, Ct. from 1975-1979. Particularly the chance to serve and be in the presence of HH the16th Gyalwa Karmapa. A significant and transformative experience. I am thankful for the time spent in your presence alone and among fellow sangha. I will always be grateful for a practice that can create infinite space, empty, full and timeless. I am thankful for the exceptional Buddhist education, unconditional love and the transmission of centuries of Buddhist wisdom you shared with me. I am extraordinarily grateful for the plethora of viable tools you shared to unravel my own and generations of overwhelming trauma. Ultimately you gave me an acute awareness, or consciousness of a path and a means to appreciate to the best of my ability all the sensations of life. Past ~ PRESENT ~ Future The gifts you've given to me are priceless, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU !!! I hope I can reciprocate and share an inkling of your loving kindness in this lifetime. I am eternally grateful and full of devotion. I love you .