Remembering Jill Scott

On the morning of Monday, June 1st, Jill Scott passed away peacefully in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She had entered palliative care only a few days before. Friends and family gathered on Wednesday, June 3rd at the Halifax Shambhala Center to honor Jill’s life and memory. Below are a selection of memories and tributes to this long serving member of the Shambhala community.

Jill lived her life in a manner that should be an example to our sangha. She was a close student of the Vidyadhara, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and served him for many years. She also served as my attache in Boulder during the same time, and following his death she continued in this role in Halifax.

She then went on to serve Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and the Shambhala community for the remainder of her life. Jill was a beacon of integrity and devotion. She faced death as she lived, with bravery and steadiness of mind. We all mourn the passing of a true Shambhala Warrior.

With Love to the entire Scott Family,
Lady Diana Mukpo

Remembrance by Acharya Marty Janowitz:
Grace, elegance and simplicity; warmth and wry humor; quiet strength; artfulness and directness; perceptive with insight and clarity; constant and patient; always showing up – steadily and without bias; meticulous and diligent in service to both Sakyongs, Sakyong Wangmos, Vajradhatu, Kalapa and Shambhala; a true and steady friend, a nurturing and cherishing mother and life partner. These are merely some of the images that arose during the Sukhavati for our dear Jill Scott, the essential lady warrior of Shambhala.

Jill represents the best of us and was the best of us, on the dot for more than 40 years. She first encountered Chogyam Trungpa in 1972 in New York and immediately knew that he was her heart teacher. She jumped in, living first at Tail of the Tiger and then moving to Boulder in early 1974 after the first seminary, where for more than 13 years she was fully present and involved in creating the world the Vidyadhara was unfolding and manifesting. She was among the first staff of Naropa Institute; an early tantrika and meditation instructor; a regular guest, as well as in service at the Kalapa Court; a tutor to the Sawang; and holding such a variety of staff roles at Karma Dzong and Vajradhatu that a simple recounting is difficult. Especially in the Vidyadhara’s later years in Boulder Jill was one of the few students and companions he really liked to have in the close space around him.

With her husband Michael she grew and nurtured a family, especially supporting their two boys, David and Daniel, who were born in Boulder and grew up in Halifax. Jill and Michael were among the early students to respond the Vidyadhara’s call to move to Nova Scotia and soon upon their arrival she leapt back in again, getting involved in study, practice and administration in service to Shambhala and the Sakyong.

For more than fifteen years she served as the one constant reference point in the Office of Practice and Education for Shambhala International, retiring just this past February as Associate Director. In this role, she was the consummate go-to person – handling endless details and communications, from the mundane to the most challenging, always with élan, subtlety and an uplifted demeanor, regardless of how she felt as she navigated her way through her 19-year journey with breast cancer and its complications. So many people came to trust and respect Jill and through her, to respect and enrich their connection with Shambhala.

Over the years she became a devoted and artful student of the practice of Japanese Tea Ceremony. A dedicated student of the two wonderful Senseis John McGee and Alexandre Avdulov, she became a mainstay, leader and instructor within the Kalapa Cha Society in Halifax, and in recent years the tea room was her most cherished home. She continued to offer and practice tea ceremony until the final days of her life.

Jill’s immediate and natural laugh, bright wit, time for everyone and shrewd eye for what to accept and what to reject were and will continue to be integral to the atmosphere and culture of Shambhala society – always accompanied by compassion and an open heart and therefore deserving of the attribute: enlightened.

Stay tuned for remembrances by Jill’s Tea Ceremony Senseis John McGee and Alexandre Avdulov.

Remembrance by Carolyn Mandelker:
Jill worked for Shambhala in one way or another for over 30 years. I had the privilege of working with her for the last 12. She was an incredibly steady person. She had a quality that I would call “positive stubbornness”, which she exemplified in her service to Shambhala. She weathered all kinds of upheavals in our organization and through sheer will power, never wavered — financial ups and downs, staffing and salary ups and downs, and lineage ups and downs.

I remember in 2003 when President Reoch had to lay off 18 of the 25 international staff for financial reasons and there was almost nobody to ask anything of. I was new at my job, and Jill was there. She never missed a day of work even while going through chemotherapy and radiation, and she attempted to answer every single email that came to her. Isn’t that amazing? She mentored many of today’s leaders in Shambhala in various ways, those who worked in close proximity to her, and the many who she communicated with across the mandala every day. We are fortunate to have had Jill’s steady and precise presence through all these years – because of her and others like her, Shambhala has grown stronger.

The Sakyong has said on several occasions that “there is no such thing as retirement in enlightened society.” Jill’s health was clearly declining over the last year, and on March 1st, when our new Director of Practice and Education arrived (Mr. Charlie Goetzl), having replied to every email and offered Charlie a very organized download of the Practice and Education files, Jill gracefully shut off her computer and went home. She died exactly three months later. Jill never retired, and we are so grateful.

An article of appreciation for Jill, written by Maggie Colby, can be read by clicking here.