![](\"https:\/\/www.presspubs.com\/content\/articles\/2009\/01\/21\/white_bear_press\/news\/doc49773fc1ea3aa563493342.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Instead of dodging the question, Port always replied, \u201cI\u2019m a Buddhist<\/a> priest.\u201d And the student would always say, \u201cYeah right.\u201d<\/p>\n But after Port\u2019s true identity spread throughout the school, the student became a believer. Now, Port\u2019s students think it\u2019s cool to have a Buddhist priest as a teacher because of the popular media connection between martial arts and Buddhism<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cA co-worker started a rumor that I was a black belt,\u201d he laughed. \u201cThe rumor continued on, even though I\u2019m not one at all.\u201d<\/p><\/span>\n Port is a Soto Zen Buddhist living in White Bear Lake \u2014 which, according to Port, is home to only 14 or 15 practicing Buddhists. Port\u2019s school of Zen \u2014 Soto \u2014 traces its roots to Japanese farmers. Meanwhile, the other major school of Zen \u2014 Rin Zai \u2014 is more associated with the Samurai culture, Port said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSoto is historically more quiet and peaceful,\u201d Port said. \u201cThe tea ceremony and flower arranging is more Soto.\u201d<\/p>\n Originally from Cloquet, Port came to Minneapolis for college and soon read Philip Kapleau\u2019s \u201cThe Three Pillars of Zen,\u201d a book he said, gave him a sense of direction in life. In 1977, he began training with the late Dainin Katagiri, a Japanese Zen Buddhist who was the first abbot of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis. Port considers himself one of Katagiri\u2019s 12 successors and a member of the 83rd generation of priests after Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I met Katagiri it felt confirmed that this is my practice,\u201d Port said.<\/p>\n He went on to receive the \u201cDharma Transmis-sion,\u201d or permission to teach independently and transmit the Soto Zen lineage, from Katagiri before he died. Now Port teaches Zen practice himself out of his White Bear Lake home, where he added anyone is free to visit to meditate.<\/p>\n Port said becoming a priest meant a level of commitment that he was not sure he was ready for at the age of 32. He explained that a Buddhist priest has the responsibility of passing on the Dharma to successors, which means a lot of teaching and commitment to one\u2019s students.<\/p><\/span>\n Now in his 50s, Port is still teaching Zen, still has a shaved head and frequently wears a blue meditation robe. He has written a book about his experiences with Katagiri entitled \u201cKeep Me in Your Heart a While.\u201d A collection of chapters with teachings that are embellished by stories, the book was released in November. Port is holding discussion groups about it throughout January and February.<\/span><\/p>\n Buddhist priests are similar to Protestant ministers in that they can have families.<\/p>\n \u201cThe family succession culture worked in Japan and is more accepted here,\u201d Port said.<\/p>\n Port compared the commitment of Buddhist priesthood to the commitment of marriage.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the commitment the real works begin,\u201d Port said. \u201cTo take it and make it your own either happens or it doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Port has two children, ages 12 and 14, who grew up Buddhist. But Port said he\u2019s never pushed his religion on them.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of Zen involves sitting still,\u201d he said. \u201cKids should be moving around and doing things. If they find resonance in Buddhism down the road, fine, if not that\u2019s fine too.\u201d<\/p>\n Port\u2019s day job involves teaching Minneapolis public school children with behavioral problems. Sometimes the work can be challenging, as problems and even violent situations can arise. He thinks Buddhism has helped him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been training all these years with a calm mind,\u201d Port said. \u201cIt helps me in teaching these kids and not taking things personally.\u201d<\/p>\n After living in Minneapolis for 25 years, Port said he moved to the more quiet community of White Bear Lake because it felt like home. He has open space near his home on Prospect Avenue.<\/p>\n \u201cNature has always been the biggest thing for me,\u201d Port said.<\/p>\n But Zen doesn\u2019t have to be practiced in nature, he said. It\u2019s practiced by people everywhere, from the San Francisco peninsula to busy Tokyo street corners.<\/p>\n He said his White Bear Lake neighbors are friendly and casual about his appearance and beliefs.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is diversity everywhere now,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cIn the 70s and 80s, Katagiri would get phone calls telling him that he was going to hell, but people have learned that you have to be tolerant.\u201d<\/p>\n If there is one thing people should understand about Zen Buddhism<\/a>, Port added, it\u2019s that people should seize the moment in each day.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are all going to die,\u201d he said. \u201cThe point is what we should do between now and then. By studying what life and death is, we can know that there is nothing to fear in either of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Nicholas Backus can be reached at\u00a0news@press<\/a>\u00a0pubs.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n Here\u2019s an article (with high rate of things I actually said) that\u2019s fresh out about me and Zen from the local newspaper, White Bear Press. WHITE BEAR LAKE \u2014 One of Dosho Michael Port\u2019s Minneapolis public school students used to ask him why he had a shaved head. Instead of dodging the question, Port always […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/4330911338438640912-7650575916186235342?l=wildfoxzen.blogspot.com\")