Product Description
In Sit Down and Shut Up, Brad Warner tackles one of the great works of Zen literature, the Shobogenzo by 13th-century Zen master Dogen. Illuminating Dogen’s enigmatic teachings in plain language, Warner intertwines sha… More >>
Product Description
In Sit Down and Shut Up, Brad Warner tackles one of the great works of Zen literature, the Shobogenzo by 13th-century Zen master Dogen. Illuminating Dogen’s enigmatic teachings in plain language, Warner intertwines sha… More >>
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Warner adds zen buddhism to his collection of far eastern exotica,to go alongside his limited edition toys,godzilla posters and 80′s 7 inch punk vinyl(1st press and coloured vinyl of course)
After reading this book i really felt like i hadnt read anything.The author, after countless attempts to explain Zen philosophy , is only able to summarize the full extent of his Zen experiment/experince as nothing more than `just be a good person’!
People do not need zen to tell them that,and that is not the purpose of the zen dharma.
In fact all you have to do to practise Zazen is to be a good christian.!
I dont deny that the Reality that Dogen talked about exist,but i just cant feel it here.
I really cant see the relevance of zen to Western society,as in the words of F.Schuon :Zen pressuposes so many conditions of mentality and environment(prticularly implicit in the the far eastern mind and cultural make up) that the slightest lack in this respect jeopardizes the result of any effort however sincere.
Contemporay culture has no real relevance in the Zen world view too so punk rock doenst give the author any perspective that is really helpful.His references keep pulling you into world views/ideas that are the very opposite of the state that Zen aspires to.
As someone who was involved in punk,i didnt feel the fact that the author played bass in a punk band,gave this any more meaning for me,In fact less so.
Its the same to me as christian punk???punk and christianity cancel each other out,you cant be one plus the other,in the same way Zen and punk cancel each other out.You just create something new that is not one or the other, its not `hardcore’ any more,to use the authors own point of reference!Its all or nothing this Zen business.For most people it will be nothing i suspect.
How will this inspire people,other than introducing to new ideas,and some Buddhist philosophy they can talk about for a few minutes at dinner parties??Will those ideas prove useful to them in a holistic sense or will they just remain in the realm of ideas.As an idea alone zen is very dangerous ,so popularising it is not a good thing properbly!
For me personally this book was a waste of time,it didnt inspire me to do anything other than realising that i was wasting my time reading it.So yeah it kind of worked,but not i imagine how the author envisaged,but there again who knows.
Rating: 1 / 5
Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen’s Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye
By Brad Warner
I like what’s going on in the world today; we are shaking up old traditions and as you can imagine, a punk rocker would probably shake up Buddhism a bit. It is a great way to introduce a profound teaching to the disgruntled young minds in our society who see no way to connect with tradition. It’s also a great way for a Buddhist to check his or her humility and loosen up a little by seeing things with a “beginners mind.”Rahasya Poe, Lotus Guide,[...]
Rating: 4 / 5
This book does have a few things I thought were interesting in it, however ultimately I thought it was misleading. The books cover, and synopsis on the back makes the book seem like it’s going to be a punk rocker’s take on budhism and talks to us about the coorelation between the two in a no BS fashion. The book did have some of this, however alot of it was just confusing information about a guy who in my opinion was extremely confused himself, dogen. The book mentioned little stories here and there about his punk rock group in akron ohio but to me that is NOT enough to say the book was about a punk rockers life and how it coorelates with zen budhism. It’s like if I were a hells angel and wrote a book about Jesus Christ and gave you a lot of opinions I had on jesus’s parables, with little bits of info on the Motorcycle rallies I went to and friends I met. I am not really giving you anything much different than a book about jesus, and by the way did I mention I was a hells angel, Get what im saying?. I was very dissapointed.The book was very trendie and boring. The fact that the author has to mention he is a zen master, tells us he has ego issues himself, regardless of whether or not he tells us right after not to take stock in it. If he really didnt care about the title he would have never of mentioned it in the first place. I think the book was a waste of time to read. I reccomend this book to anyone who has trouble sleeping at night, or enjoys being confused.
Rating: 2 / 5
A take on serious topics from someone who is anything but serious. Great sense of humor, and lots of honesty. Warner has clearly had a very interesting life, and has learned a lot from it. And luckily for us, he decided to share it with us. (and he’s a decent writer).
Great book, highly recommended. Of course, if you’re into the whole stodgy “religion is defined by X set of rules” junk, this wouldn’t be for you. But if you’re open minded enough to hear a different viewpoint, you’ll get a lot out of Warner’s book.
Rating: 5 / 5
I have no other comment than simply saying this book is great! I particularly liked the chapters on zazen (especially ‘Zazen by alone’ as this is what I do where I live – there is no teacher), Genjo Koan, Death but the other chapters are also exceptional. Like the first book from Brad Warner (Hardcore Zen) this is a book you’ll end up reading again and again.
Kind regards
Ilias
Rating: 5 / 5