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

Very well written, easy to understand, funny and insightful

Its just straight Soto Zen clearly explained in terms that make sense. These are really pretty hard concepts. The other serious Zen books make it harder because they are trying to translate from other languages. The popular books are full of warm and fuzzy stuff which really dumbs it all down. I have a lot of other Buddhism books but this and Zen Mind Beginner's Mind are the ones I read over and over. I give it to friends too. He has a web site, blog, worth checking out and is working on a second book.

This is not your stuffy, bookish treatment of Zen Buddhism. It is a real expression of one man's circuitous journey to the heart of Zen. His matter-of-fact style coupled with a healthy sense of humour make this book not only enlightening, but entertaining as well. For people who have read a great deal on Buddhism and are looking for a new perspective or for those who are just beginning to explore the area, this is a definite must read.

Brad Warner's Hardcore Zen is part autobiography, part theology, and 100% fun. With an unlikely mix of irreverence and compassion, Warner explains his interpretation of Zen Buddhism and how it relates to his experiences of creating punk rock and Japanese monster movies. If you can imagine a drug-addict-free Hunter S. Thompson writing about the nature of reality, well, then you have Warner's writing style: "Lemme give you my take on these truths. The first noble truth, suffering, represents idealism. When you look at things from an idealistic viewpoint everything sucks, as The Descendants said in the song called 'Everything Sucks' (from the album Everything Sucks). Nothing can possibly live up to the ideals and fantasies you've created. So we suffer because things are not the way we think they ought to be. Rather than face what really is, we prefer to retreat and compare what we're living through with the way we think it oughta be. Suffering comes from the comparison between the two." But unlike most books about a religion, Warner never claims to have any answers. Instead, he states that the precepts of Buddhism can lead you to something more complex-yourself: "Buddhism won't give you the answer. Buddhism might help you find your own right question, but you've gotta supply your own answers. Sorry. No one else's answer will ever satisfy you-nor should it. But the real magic is that once you have your own true answer, you'll find that you're not alone. As unique as your own true answer is-the one you find after questioning and questioning and questioning-it will be absolutely in tune with the answer Gautama Buddha found and those centuries ago..." Hardcore Zen offers a unique voice to the volumes of books on Buddhism. Unlike most authors who focus on religion, Warner makes the subject matter fascinating through humor and reiterating the fact that he knows nothing-you already know everything.

I love Zen books. For the most part, good books on Zen click with me. The thing is, though... the void surrounding that "for the most part" is glaring at times. The authors often come from a landscape so esoteric or removed from the average Joe- & -Jane's real life situation. Two contemporary writers of Zen I enjoy most are Charlotte Joko Beck and the late Alan Watts, yet when I read them, I can't help but picturing myself next to Alen Ginsburg on a houseboat in Sausalito, or eating macrobiotic rice at The Yogic-Yogurt Cafe in some land like Santa Cruz or La Jolla. It's not that I dislike these notions, but they are so far removed from my reality. I got much a lot out of these books, but a little something was missing.I browsed through Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner. I was initially drawn to the funky cover and thought "Oh cute... another book on 'Zen For the Western Mind." Nope. This book is much more than a cute punk-themed book cover.Flipping through the pages, I was amazed to find that this Zen practitioner made references to several major pop-culture icons that I could really relate to. I thought I was the only American from my generation who remembered the episode of Ultraman where a funeral service is held for the scores of space monsters that Ultraman had to kill. Nor did I expect to see a reference to that cringe-inducing 1982 CHIPS episode where evil punk rockers terrorized the Battle of the Bands with their ode "I Dig Pain!" These references to modern media moguls, from Henry Rollins to Ed Wood to Godzilla, are not just trivial inserts serving as a gimmick for a "Zen Book O' the Week" favorite. Brad Warner applies these references to everyday life as many middle class Americans know it. You can toss your MTV memorabilia and Cristina Aguilera posters away and eat all the tofu you please, but let's not pretend we were never reared on TV, rock music and Sugar Pops, because most of us ---even the ones going to Veganville--- love our pop culture.If you are searching for a book on Zen that will take your soul flying into the astral plane or seeing rainbow-colored deities, well... this book is not for you. Warner is a Zen priest, coming from the mindset that Zen is reality, Zen is what's here & now. The "here & now" is one of the things that has drawn me to books on Zen, and Warner illustrates this very well. There has been so much written on "embracing the mundane," but this one will make sense to anyone who has grown up in American cities and suburbs. Warner shows reality as both exciting and drab, and expresses the notion of "embracing the mundane" in ways that really hits home.Warner also addresses the dangers of searching for divine intervention, or states of higher consciousness. Namely, he shows how there are plenty of people out there who pass themselves off as enlightened gurus or prophets of God, and how easily they can exploit and harm insecure people searching for spiritual comfort. Charismatic folks are experts at looking "reali

I have read several books on Buddhism. After I finish one I feel slightly wiser and somewhat confused. After finishing Hardcore Zen I feel wiser and less confused. Besides a few typeos the book is a very well written easy read, with some laughs and some deep insights. This book presents the most believable version of the truth I have ever come across. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I have.