I knew Birgit when she lived at Karme Choling in the late '80s. She was absolutely fearless, outrageous, with a wild sense of humor. As much as anyone else she impressed on me the fact that Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's path took you as you are, and could accommodate all sorts of people as dedicated practitioners. I was just thinking about her on Sunday when I saw this notice. Fare well, dear yogini. I hope to see you again.

So sad to hear of Birgit’s going — this news truly shook me.
She was a proverbial extravagant, out-there, and delightful woman.
I kept in touch with her after our 1986 seminary days, and in the early nineties we met in London, climbed the stairs to the dome of St. Paul’s, and had lunch by Tower Bridge. Even on the net, she shone with knowledge and care, slipping between Spanish and English with ease — her Spanish always delivered with a certain command and air.
Yes, Birgit was fully there with everyone she met, endlessly curious about people and the world. She reminded us that life can be lived richly and openly for sure.
So here’s to Birgit, and to her precious, precious life amongst us.
—Rita Ashworth, UK

Birgit was an outstanding, outrageous friend. While at Karme-Choling at the same time, she manifested in full costume as Ekajati and fit the person perfectly. Later, we both lived in Seattle at the same time. She had many talents and worked for a construction company and we'd often see her on the various roads, as a construction worker. She also was a great cook, gardener, and the Seattle Shambhala Center is still graced with a special chair she reupholstered in rich gold brocade in the Teacher's Room! When she moved to Costa Rica to take care of her Mother for many years before her Mother's passing, my son (Nick Pierce) visited there to have an expensive dental surgery, and made wonderful friends with Birgit (as I had put them in touch) and he was invited to stay with her. We had a well attended zoom sukhavati ceremony after her passing to include Nick in Seattle, and many of her sisters and extended family from various parts of the globe. Birgit was a life force that was talented, passionate, and a loyal friend and will always be in my heart!