Bill's love for the Guru, the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha was so deep in his bones, the only word that comes to mind is rapturous.
I shared an evening with him some years ago, probably Karme Choling, possibly a Scorpion Seal / Acharya retreat with Sakyong Mipham. Memory fails the time and place, but the texture is effortlessly accurate.
Bill was showing me the fruits of a personal project of his -- a stack of portrait photos of students of dathuns he had led. He had gone to great trouble to assure the lighting and framing of these were identical. He wanted to capture the impact of "before" and "after" as the only variable. The positioning of the head and shoulders for each participant, their clothing, the lighting and background, were kept as identical as possible.
Bill displayed the deck as if he were a poker dealer, one card at a time, snapped onto the top of the growing pile, calling out "before" ... "after" ... "before" ... "after". The obvious indications of transformation by contrast in many of these photo pairs was breathtaking. It brought forth many "ah's" and "wow's". Any other words would have been superfluous.
For Bill, the joy in sharing this bit of ordinary magic was so deep and heartful. He loved Trungpa Rinpoche, he loved the Dharma, and he loved the Sangha, with a passion as deep and indomitable as the ocean.
"Before" ... "After" ... Sail on, Bill. The heartbreak of missing you is biting and personal. The expansiveness of isness and the hearts you shared such joy in opening with is infinite. Sail on, Bill, sail on.