It is said that one of Machig's children has been her dharma heir.
He died in May 1945 without leaving behind a Dharma heir.
Today, his dharma heirs, descendants and former students teach at Zen Centers around the world.
He made forty-two Dharma heirs during his life.
Several of her Dharma heirs are practicing psychologists/psychiatrists.
While she had accepted the roshi title, she never declared to be a Dharma heir or lineage holder.
Institutional and financial dimension: dharma heirs have an obligation to support their home temple, both financially and ritually.
Linguistic dimension: dharma heirs receive new names, which reflect their tie to the dharma 'family'.
None of the monks dared to write anything, deferring to Shenxiu who they believed would be the next Dharma heir.
Through her transcriptions of his talks, the institute was able to continue on the lineage without having a formal teacher (Sokei-an left no Dharma heir).