Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

I was reluctant to post this here because of all the hulabaloo about Zen and such, but I've worked up the nerve.  I just thought that some folks may not know.  The Venerable Master Sheng Yen has passed from his bodily existence.  Although I'd never met him in life, I've read several of his works, and his wisdom was one of the guiding forces in my practice.  Along with the Dali Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, he is/was a guiding light in the modern Buddhist world.

He died yesterday, Feb. 3, 2009 at 4 p.m. (Taiwan time).

You can view his funeral proceedings here: http://web.ddm.org.tw/90107/main01.html.

Offical statements can be read here: http://www.dharmadrum.org/.

He left this poem for us;

無事忙中老，
空裡有哭笑，
本來沒有我，
生死皆可拋

Translated as:

Though nothing happens, we’ve grown old in our busy lives.
We cry and laugh, all in emptiness.
There is originally no self,
So both life and death can be cast aside.

and alternately as:

Busy with nothing, growing old.
Within emptiness, weeping, laughing.
Intrinsically, there is no "I."
Life and death, thus cast aside.

I hope this is not inappropriate, and the thread can be dropped if it is.  My hope is that he will be reborn quickly to be a light to all of us again.  He has asked that people chant “Namo Amitabha Buddha" to guide his rebirth, but I doubt he would mind if we played Tamuke as well.  Again, my apologies if this is not the place.