A Letter from Low Tide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dear blog reader, A few days ago, Tetsugan and I met our friends Melissa and David at the Porthole - a local breakfast hot spot on a wharf in Old Port.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Letter from Low Tide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear blog reader, A few days ago, Tetsugan and I met our friends Melissa and David at the Porthole - a local breakfast hot spot on a wharf in Old Port.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wild Fox Zen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dosho.port\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-09-23T14:49:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-11-16T12:50:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/files\/2014\/09\/10514328_10204934185177186_8156190641719661929_o-285x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dosho Port\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dosho Port\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html\",\"name\":\"A Letter from Low Tide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-09-23T14:49:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-11-16T12:50:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/45224391b7690e99673782337bd0eabd\"},\"description\":\"Dear blog reader, A few days ago, Tetsugan and I met our friends Melissa and David at the Porthole - a local breakfast hot spot on a wharf in Old Port.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Letter from Low Tide\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/\",\"name\":\"Wild Fox Zen\",\"description\":\"Living the Dream\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/45224391b7690e99673782337bd0eabd\",\"name\":\"Dosho Port\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b9712e98924dea6c08d55890403352f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b9712e98924dea6c08d55890403352f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dosho Port\"},\"description\":\"Dosho Port began practicing Zen in 1977 and now co-teachers with his wife, Tetsugan Zummach, with the Vine of Obstacles Zen. Dosho received dharma transmission from Dainin Katagiri Roshi and inka shomei from James Myoun Ford Roshi in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He is the author of \\\"Keep Me In Your Heart Awhile: The Haunting Zen of Dainin Katagiri,\\\" \\\"The Record of Empty Hall: One Hundred Classic Koans,\\\" and \\\"Going Through the Mystery's One Hundred Questions.\\\"\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.vineobstacleszen.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dosho.port\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/author\/doshoport\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Letter from Low Tide","description":"Dear blog reader, A few days ago, Tetsugan and I met our friends Melissa and David at the Porthole - a local breakfast hot spot on a wharf in Old Port.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Letter from Low Tide","og_description":"Dear blog reader, A few days ago, Tetsugan and I met our friends Melissa and David at the Porthole - a local breakfast hot spot on a wharf in Old Port.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html","og_site_name":"Wild Fox Zen","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dosho.port","article_published_time":"2014-09-23T14:49:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-11-16T12:50:23+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/files\/2014\/09\/10514328_10204934185177186_8156190641719661929_o-285x300.jpg"}],"author":"Dosho Port","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dosho Port","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html","name":"A Letter from Low Tide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-09-23T14:49:21+00:00","dateModified":"2014-11-16T12:50:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/45224391b7690e99673782337bd0eabd"},"description":"Dear blog reader, A few days ago, Tetsugan and I met our friends Melissa and David at the Porthole - a local breakfast hot spot on a wharf in Old Port.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Letter from Low Tide"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/","name":"Wild Fox Zen","description":"Living the Dream","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/45224391b7690e99673782337bd0eabd","name":"Dosho Port","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b9712e98924dea6c08d55890403352f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b9712e98924dea6c08d55890403352f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dosho Port"},"description":"Dosho Port began practicing Zen in 1977 and now co-teachers with his wife, Tetsugan Zummach, with the Vine of Obstacles Zen. Dosho received dharma transmission from Dainin Katagiri Roshi and inka shomei from James Myoun Ford Roshi in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He is the author of \"Keep Me In Your Heart Awhile: The Haunting Zen of Dainin Katagiri,\" \"The Record of Empty Hall: One Hundred Classic Koans,\" and \"Going Through the Mystery's One Hundred Questions.\"","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.vineobstacleszen.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dosho.port"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/author\/doshoport"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2665\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":2665,"date":"2014-09-23T08:49:21","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T14:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/?p=2665"},"modified":"2014-11-16T06:50:23","modified_gmt":"2014-11-16T12:50:23","slug":"a-letter-from-low-tide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2014\/09\/a-letter-from-low-tide.html","title":{"rendered":"A Letter from Low Tide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"10514328_10204934185177186_8156190641719661929_o\"$ <\/a>Dear blog reader,<\/p>\n

A few days ago, Tetsugan and I met our friends Melissa and David at the Porthole \u2013 a local breakfast hot spot on a wharf in Old Port. Right behind our table was a large painting of a lobster \u2013 a large lobster. A lobster that might eat Portland.<\/p>\n

Anyway, I noticed that the painter had signed his name \u201cKenneth T. Murphy, aka, Low Tide.\u201d That gave us all a laugh \u2013 Tetsugan and I moved out here to Portland, ME, to start Great<\/span> Tides Zen, afterall.<\/p>\n

But \u201cLow Tide\u201d seems like a such a fitting\u00a0Zen name in the spirit of a couple of my heros \u2013 Hakuin who often used the moniker \u201cHungry, Cold, and Tired\u201d or Ikkyu who preferred \u201cCrazy Cloud\u201d \u2013 that I\u2019d like to appropriate it for myself (with apologies to the artist).<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, I\u2019ve started calling Tetsugan \u201cHigh Tide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ah, but low tide, when the great ocean has rolled the other way and left the beach barren and bereft, littered with refuse, and well, here we are.<\/p>\n

Katagiri Roshi didn\u2019t go so far as to make it a moniker but he often said a Zen teacher was a garbage can, so \u201cLow Tide\u201d follows nicely from that too.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a little about what\u2019s happening here. Interested in some more?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve happily retired from my education career and I\u2019m settling into being an old guy doing what I love. I spend my days sitting, hanging out with friends, biking by the ocean, and meeting with Zen students.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good life.\u00a0Who knows for how long?<\/p>\n

Leonard Cohen, just turned 80, has a new CD, \u201cPopular Solutions,\u201d so what\u2019s there to complain about?<\/p>\n

And we\u2019ve been reminded again (\u201cdeath is old but it\u2019s always new\u201d -LC) about the uncertainty of this life by dear Kyogen Carlson, co-abbot of Dharma<\/a> Rain Zen Center, who died suddenly last week. Kyogen, by the way, played a big role in American Zen, establishing Dharma Rain along with his partner, Gyokuko, of course, but also in starting the American Zen Teachers Association and the Soto Zen Buddhist<\/a> Association. He will be missed.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, we\u2019ve got \u201cWake the Heck Up! Morning Zazen\u201d up and sitting \u2013 week days, 5:30-7am and we\u2019ve had between four and eight sitters, usually closer to eight. Twelve folks showed up for our second Sunday Open Zen this past Sunday. So a nice group of practitioners is starting to gather. We\u2019ll have our first all-day sitting (zazenkai) at the Dzogchen Meditation Center on October 18 and our first seven-day sesshin in December at Alcyon.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, thanks to\u00a0Ethan we have a Great Tides Zen Podcast rolling. Click here for that.<\/a>\u00a0You\u2019ll find our new talks (\u201cWorld of Dew and What to Do\u201d and \u201cWords that Turn the Heart\u201d) and some older ones too, all remastered for you.<\/p>\n

And thanks to Paul, you can find more about what we\u2019re doing at Great Tides Zen here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Please treasure your high and low self,<\/p>\n

Low Tide<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"