RUTH MILANDER TABRAH -- A Memorial
by Connie Fukumoto
Ruth
Milander Tabrah was a modest, positive, multi-talented, witty, sensitive
and compassionate person. She touched us with her wisdom and shared her
knowledge through her writings and art. She was a Bodhisattva who walked
among us. She was always a student in the process of becoming truly human.
Born
in
Buffalo,
N.Y.
on February 28, 1921, Ruth graduated with
honors from the
University
of Buffalo
at age 16. She taught
at a school for refugee students under the guidance of Mrs. Eleanor
Roosevelt and did graduate studies at the University
of Washington
in Seattle. She married Dr. Frank
Tabrah and had two sons, Joseph and Thomas. The family moved to Kohala,
Hawaii
in 1956. Some of the
major events of that period were:
1.
Her children grew up in the security of a plantation community made up of
all ethnic groups.
2.
The family sailed the Pacific on a yacht.
3.
They joined the
Bishop
Museum
crew in excavating and
recording Hawaiian artifacts, which piqued her interest in Hawaiiana.
4.
Buddhism entered her life. Asked to write about Buddhism by a publisher in
New York, she researched and
wrote “Buddhism -- Modern Way of Life & Thought,” which is still
in demand today.
5.
She became a member of the Democratic Party, a member of the State Board
of Education (1966-78) and later served as chairperson of the Democratic
Committee for the
island
of
Hawaii. As a member of the
National Association of Boards of Education, she was invited to spend a
month in
Russia. Also, she was invited
to visit Niihau
when their doors first
opened to outsiders.
6.
After her divorce she lived at her beach house at Puako.
Ruth
was a woman of strong conviction and great strength. In an effort to find
herself, she embarked on a world tour even though she had very limited
assets. The Pan Am round-the-world ticket allowed her to travel whenever
and wherever the plane flew. She visited
Turkey,
India, Pakistan, Tibet, Inner and
Outer Mongolia,
China
and New Guinea. She came home with
$2.00 in her pocket, refreshed and renewed.
After
renting her beach home to wealthy vacationers, Ruth moved to a walk-up
apartment in
Honolulu
and began a new life.
She was sought after as a speaker at many Buddhist temples where she
encouraged the young to learn about the Buddhist way of life before
embracing another religion. She continued to write Hawaiiana books,
biographies, historical novels, and children’s books and put aside her
own priorities to edit books, periodicals and messages for others.
In
the early 1970s, Ruth began to study Shin Buddhism in earnest. She joined
a group of dedicated listeners at the Buddhist Study Center (BSC) every
week and attended services at the Hawaii Betsuin. Nembutsu retreats,
seminars, study classes, and listening tours to Japan
convinced her that
this was her main thrust in life. She began the BSC Press by recording and
editing dharma messages by various teachers and publishing them for
general consumption. She became active in radio broadcasts, wrote articles
in Metta (the BSC monthly that had international readership) and many
other publications. She carefully gave credit to proper resources and
never to herself. In collaboration with minister scholars, she translated
sutras –- Shoshinge, Sanbutsuge and Juseige -- and published them as
“Shin Sutras to Live By.”
In
1998, Ruth was honored as a ‘Living Treasure’ by the Honpa Hongwanji
Mission of
Hawaii. This award is
bestowed upon individuals who contributed to the community as a writer, a
Buddhist and as an educator in an inspirational way.
By
invitation, she joined the International Association of Shin Buddhist
Studies (IASBS) and broadened her scholarship. She served as secretary to
this group and edited their publication “The Pure Land Journal.” Her
contribution included facilitating and coordinating new resources. One
example of this was when she came upon a small poem written by George
Gatenby, an Australian Buddhist. She contacted him and got permission to
print his poem in Metta. Several
short articles followed. His work caught the attention of some scholars in
Japan
and he was invited to
the next IASBS conference. Gatenby received his ordination at Honzan in
Kyoto
and is actively
propagating Shin Buddhism in
Australia. Ruth was the
facilitator like this to many others in Alaska
as well as
London,
Austria
and Switzerland
through her activities
with the European Shin Buddhist Association.
At
one of the European conferences, she was encouraged by Zenmon Sama and
Lady Ohtani to write about Shinran Shonin and his wife Eshinni Sama. It
took about 10-12 years of research before “The Monk Who Dared” was
published, followed by “Eshinni, The Monk’s Wife” a few years later.
“The Monk Who Dared” has been translated into Japanese by Rev. Esho
Shimazu, a noted scholar in
Kyoto
and is awaiting a
publisher. Her last manuscript, an autobiography, is complete and will
enter the publishing process soon.
Ruth
received her tokudo ordination in
Kyoto
in 1982. She continued
to propagate the teachings innovatively and creatively to meet the needs
of members, including the divorce ceremony to fill the needs of many who
experience this pain of separation. She paved the way for a different kind
of minister, unattached to a temple but creative and active in Dharma
propagation.
In
1986, she began classes in watercolor at the art academy and enjoyed it
tremendously. Soon she was exhibited in juried shows about town. She
maintained warm relations with many well known artists.
Ruth
was also a linguist in possession of an uncanny memory. A quick study to
learn new languages, she used them whenever feasible. In Japan
she got immediate
response when she greeted anyone in their language. In
France, she was able to
communicate with people with ease. Once en route home from
Berlin, we were on a slow
East German train to Frankfurt
(two-and-a half hours
late). The conductor kept insisting that we were lacking some documents.
Ruth tried in English to appease him to no avail. Suddenly, out of
nowhere, she blurted out her frustration in German and the conductor did
not bother us again. She surprised herself because she had not spoken
German since her college days.
Ruth
was a loving mother to her family, a wonderful Tutu to her grandchildren.
They loved Tutu and Puako, their home base. She visited her sons Joe and
Thomas at every home they occupied (
Equador, Florida,
Washington,
Arizona, etc.). Her
grandchildren always kept in touch. And, with a new generation of
great-grandchildren appearing, she felt great joy. Besides her sons, Ruth
is survived by a half-brother, Robert Flock.
Ruth
was so happy to have her children and their families in
Honolulu
during the last three
years of her life. They gave her support and lots of love. Joe and Sharon
have five children -- Celeste Bauer, Jennifer, Melissa, Jessica, and
Joseph Frank -- and a grandchild, Emma Ruth Bauer. Joe is employed as an
engineer at the Oceanic Research Institute. Thomas and Helayne have two
children, Ryan and Laura. Ryan and Kristen are soon to be parents. Laura
and David are parents to Jack David Chiavacchi. Thomas is Commander of
Coastguard Group Hawaii.
Ruth Tabrah left us on Buddha Day, April 8 at
4:30 p.m.
at Arcadia Hospice
Facility. She will be missed. Her legacy of selfless giving will enrich
our lives forever. We have been blessed by being touched by a person of
Nembutsu -- a truly humane human being -- and hope that it bears fruit in
our lives.
Namu
Amida Butsu.
