The best way...

By Rev. Gene Bush

Part of a pending book by and for Katherine’s students….

Katherine, along with the many ancestors and teachers in prior generations, recognized and expressed that Practice is necessarily participatory and all-inclusive. She held a high standard for abiding by the forms our tradition, which she enacted with grace; she emphasized the centrality of zazen assuring that her practice places held regular sitting and service; and she actively investigated (while never undermining) the wisdom of the women and men who handed down this tradition over the years. 

In her teaching, she expressed both humility and stability. Part of Katherine’s gift, perhaps influenced by being the daughter of Greek immigrants, was her ability to translate the ‘old country’ sensibility of the forms of practice to westerners who could barely perceive the nuances of the Japanese-influenced way. Katherine subtly taught me how to enact the roles of service – as doan, kokyo or doshi. She simply lived the forms, assuming that I was paying attention. On one occasion, after I had apparently been an awkward jisha as a novice priest, Katherine indicated that I should assume the doshi role for service with her as my attendant. With great precision Katherine passed the stick of incense to me at the altar, moving it exactly on time, holding it exactly upright, exactly in the center and exactly at the height my hand could easily reach.

Soon thereafter, I asked Katherine, “How can I ever thank you enough?”

Her response, clear and unshakeable, “The best way to thank me is to continue your practice.”