Steve Hagen has been an instructor in religion at St. Olaf College and a science researcher for the University of Minnesota and the State of Alaska. In 1979 he was ordained a Zen priest, and in 1989 he received formal endorsement to teach. However, he has no formal ties to any Zen or Buddhist hierarchy, calling himself ＂Buddhish＂ rather than Buddhist. In 1996, he founded Dharma Field Meditation and Learning Center in Minneapolis, where he continues to serve as the guiding teacher. He is the author of the bestselling Buddhism Plain and Simple and several other popular books on religion, science, and philosophy.