On November 11, 2019, our Sangha brother and Dharma teacher, Reverend Robert Schaibly, True Deliverance, died of complications from throat cancer. He was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist in 1971 and served the First Unitarian Church in Houston, Texas, for twenty years as the senior minister.
Although Bob had studied Buddhism in college, meeting Thich Nhat Hanh in 1988 inspired him to actively start a Buddhist practice. As Bob said,
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On November 11, 2019, our Sangha brother and Dharma teacher, Reverend Robert Schaibly, True Deliverance, died of complications from throat cancer. He was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist in 1971 and served the First Unitarian Church in Houston, Texas, for twenty years as the senior minister.
Although Bob had studied Buddhism in college, meeting Thich Nhat Hanh in 1988 inspired him to actively start a Buddhist practice. As Bob said, “I met Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh when he came to speak at my church in Houston, Texas. He saw the still-desperate look in my eyes as I was struggling to recover from radiation treatment. His personal message for me was that ‘being’ was an important practice, since most people find their self-worth in ‘doing.’”
After attending his first retreat with Thay in 1989, Bob founded the Houston Zen Community and supported the development of the Houston Sangha in addition to his duties as a minister. In 1992, Bob was invited by Thay to come to Plum Village to receive the lamp transmission and to be ordained as a Dharma teacher. He was given the name True Deliverance.
Bob touched many of our lives, and he is remembered for his kind, inspiring, and compassionate demeanor. His husband, Steven, shared “what a wonderful and powerful speaker Bob was,” as he was fortunate to hear many of Bob’s sermons and Dharma talks. Bob retired in 2002 as a minister, since his voice was weakening from cancer and radiation treatment. They moved to Portland, Oregon, where Bob continued to share his wisdom by his loving presence. He was active in the First Unitarian Church of Portland, a weekly Sangha, and a Buddhist men’s group. Despite many years of health challenges and limitations, he taught us all how to meet suffering with equanimity. Bob shared his true self—all of his humanity—by being transparent and vulnerable, and by being open to the “full catastrophe” when it arose. In Thay’s words, “He was a real human being in the deepest sense of the word.”
Bob often referenced the Five Remembrances in his teachings, acknowledging that the first four are pretty tough medicine, yet they are out of our control. Through his practice, he demonstrated an acceptance of this fact while meeting life with grace, humor, and wit. He pointed out that the fifth remembrance, “My actions are my only true possessions,” is the only one we have a choice about.
Through his actions, we will always remember Bob. May we together become our true selves and be the continuation of our teacher and friend. Through our actions, we will realize that his love will never die. In deep gratitude for the life of Bob Schaibly, True Deliverance.
- John Wadsworth, True Land of Fortunes, and Jerry Braza, True Great Response
