Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality

I see there are some folks that really disapprove of Brad Warner's way of presenting Buddhism. Well all I can say to that is that not all us have that same background, and can appreciate the same ways of communication on any subject. That goes especially for spirituality. Even the Dalai Lama said in The Art of Happiness that "there are over 7 billion people in this world, maybe there should be 7 billion religions."I believe that a demeanor like Warner's for the face of Buddhism is one that is long overdue in our society. His attitude towards the subject is one that resonates with the many people of today that tend to be turned off by most religious and spiritual practices. Most people I know that ask me about Buddhism get the impression a bunch of flower loving hippies doing yoga. There are many different flavors of Buddhism, but a lot of the cultural fluff that surrounds it covers up its very simple message. This book reveals that message from the perspective of a man that was once very pessimistic towards the idea of most spiritual practices and their dogmas. The first chapter describes exactly how I felt about many subjects including Buddhism. This passage from the book could sum it all up:"It's a damned shame that so much so-called Buddhist writing seems intended to function like spiritual elevator music. Mix up some lullaby-style writing and a few well-worn Buddhist clichés--or quotes from Yoda ("Let the Force flow through you!") and David Carradine's character in Kung Fu ("Patience, Grasshopper!"), if you don't know any real Buddhist soundbites--wrap it all up in a serene cover with a ripply-water picture and--Hey! Yer makin' Buddhism!"This was a very funny and entertaining read! If you do read this book, and like its angle, I also recommend Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagan.

What do you get when a punk rocker who makes monster movies becomes a Zen priest? You get a book about Zen that is in no way "nice." In the author's words: "This is not the same old crap you've seen in a thousand books you don't want to read. This is Zen for people who don't give a rat's ass about Zen." Warner tells his story and his understanding of Zen in refreshingly direct language that is truly his own, thereby encouraging the reader to take authority for his/her own understanding of life. As he says: "That's the easiest way to tell the real teachers from the phonies: a phony will take your authority and a real teacher will give it back." He explains clearly why I have felt uneasy about Ken Wilber's writings, however brilliant they may be: Wilber mistook some mystical experience for enlightenment and either had no teacher to tell him the truth, or he missed it. Whereas, "You can never meaningfully compare one moment with any other. You can never meaningfully compare your life with anyone else's." Here's a summary of Warner's advice about living: Let go of your committed pessimism. Have the courage to discover who you truly are. Then point out what's wrong in the world and make it better. "Your ordinary, boring, pointless life is incredibly, amazingly, astoundingly, relentlessly, mercilessly joyful. . . . Your life is yours alone, and to miss your life is the most tragic thing that could happen. So sit down, shut up, and take a look at it."

There are a lot of books about Buddhism. I believe different books will click with different people and for me Brad Warner's approach was the eye opener. Brad Warner is relentlessly honest, direct, opinionated, irreverent, and most of all wise. This book is an easy read. Brad is a great writer and combining a personal autobiographical book with the lessons which have been transmitted for more than 2000 was very effective to help me understand and appreciate Buddhism for the first time.It also saved my life.Several years ago years of suffering from chronic major depression had at a point led me down a very dark path. I had fallen into a pit of existential suffering about what the purpose of life was, how the universe could be so horrible, and what point was there to continue to endure more life until the point I met my natural release. It would be so much easier to just take a shortcut courtesy of a 30 story building.When I reached my personal rock bottom a seemingly random series of events led to me reading this book and from that point on everything has been different.Buddhism has led me to an understanding of the inherent perfection in everything, the undeniable beauty in emptiness, and the purpose of life which is no so obviously-in-my-face that I wonder how I could have ever not seen it. I am forever grateful to the suffering I went through to lead me to the contentment, joy, and love which the path has shown me. This book and Brad Warner was my first step down this path which has changed my life immeasurably.

By turns irritating, informative but never enlightening, this is well worth dipping into - certainly an alternative to the more scholarly D T Suzuki approach, or the Zig Zag Zen approach of the drug induced mindbenders. Brad Warner comes down pretty hard on these - a position I hold myself ever since reading Thomas Merton's letter to Aldous Huxley regarding the use of drugs to induced mystical experience. Merton spoke of the need for a "contact of two liberties" for any authentic experience, mystical or otherwise. Mr Warner discounts all "experience" if grasped at as "special" and clung too.I must admit to bleeping over one or two overlong passages. Hopefully I never missed some random sequence of words that would have triggered enlightenment - but as Brad believes in no such thing, my hopes are no doubt fulfilled.For someone claiming to be VERY anti-authoritarian Brad's apparent insistence that zazen, and by default, Soto Zen, is the sole ( only way ) to find "reality" sits awkwardly ( no pun intended ) within the pages of this book. That aside, well worth reading, whatever your interest in Punk Rock might be ( not to mention Japanese Monster Movies )I will keep saying the Nembutsu. Each to their own.Recommended.

In this first-person story about how Brad Warner discovered zen, we read about monster movies, punk rock, and Dogen. It's a mash-up of some incongruous ideas, but Warner is nothing if not sincere. I've read several of his books, and, while the others are better than this - his first - this one tells his story, how he discovered zen, and eventually became, to his own surprise, a zen monk/priest.It's a great way to discover the iconoclastic side of zen, because Warner's teacher, Gudo Nishijima, was outside the orthodoxy. Warner himself is no traditionalist, and this book shows one of the many facets of zen in the world today.

This book was recommended by a friend at my Zen sangha. When I heard a punk rocker had written a Zen book I was very intrigued. It seems so bizarre, like Evil Kinevel writing a safety manual, could the principles of Zen be applied to hardcore punk rock? Easily, yes. Brad Warner explains how to actually live with Zen, to make it a practical lived in, way of life. Most Zen books leave you more confused after reading them than when you started, and thus the good stuff that may be in them gets washed away with the confusion. Brad gives the ideas life and takes them off the pages and out of the theory. He shows how he applied them at various points in his life.Many people will not like this book because they like to appear high minded and very "deep." If that is your outlook on Zen, that it should be impenetrable, then this will not be the book for you. This book takes Zen into our 21st century western lifestyle and for the laity not the zen priests or priestesses. I have met very senior Zen priests and nuns who highly recommend Brad. I loved the book, loved the whole character of it and have since read his 2 other books watched various youtube videos. His message resonated with me and actually made some of the more impenetrable stuff penetrable.

Finished it in 2 days. It is absolutely fantastic! Brad Warner distills all the important wisdom of Zen into pithy, funny, immediately useful anecdotes, explanations and guidance. I have read many books on Zen, and this is the first to explain it properly. I don't know why I put off buying this for so long... Perhaps the title put me off, or I thought it'd be like that whinging "against the stream" guy. But this bright pearl of Zen literature is pure gold.

I am not a Buddhist nor do I identify with any religion. I came upon Hardcore Zen while looking for a book on Behavioural Pyschology. I have have always been interested in the benefits that are linked to meditation and that I suppose led me here.Hardcore Zen could be seen as an autobiography, and it sort of is. It could also ben seen as an introduction to Buddhism, specificaly the branch known as Zen, and again it sort of is. The book tells of the journey of the author Brad Warner, from an American adolescent university student / punk band member to an accomplished Zen Master living in Japan. Brad's journey illustrates Zen Buddhism from the perspective of a young thoughful man living at the end of the 20th Century. As such the book is easy to understand, approachable and often humerous. It is an introduction to Buddhism from the perspecive of someone who is not born into the Buddhist faith, does not understand its terminology and certainly not its singular world / "universe" view! - to someone who is adept and learned in this subject. I would not class myself as a spiritual person but I must say that this work awoke spiritual feelings within me. Not of a religious nature, more... spiritual.. Ha!.. or more at oneness with myself. I am not sure if this makes any sense but I am don't know how else to describe it.As a book it is well written and coherent, it outlines the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism and the eightfold path. You will also have a clear understanding of the role of Zazen. It "demystifies" subject matter and ideas which might be difficult for some to "translate" from older or more traditional texts or formats. I can understand how this "demystification" might alienate some who would like more depth on the various topicsI would certainly not hesitate to recomend this book to anyone: wishing to delve into Buddhism orlooking for a generally interesting and funny read.Have fun,Ell.