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

While this book can be very blunt and sometimes over the top, it is a great introduction to the lessons Brad Warner (a punk-rocker turned monk) has learned in his lifetime. I enjoyed reading it and enjoyed his other books as well. I wouldn't recommend as an introduction to zen or need a self-help book, but would recommend if you enjoy good writing, a good story, and zen in general. Be advised, adult language and imagery. ( )

Brad Warner has had an interesting life: playing guitar in the early-1980s punk scene in Ohio, making cheesy monster movies in Japan at Tsuburaya Productions (makers of Ultraman), and officially receiving Dharma Transmission, which makes him technically a “Zen master”— though his punk sensibilities horrified him at the thought of becoming an authority figure of any sort. He provides a fascinating perspective on Buddhism, flavored by his own life experiences, that he calls “Hardcore Zen”, which cuts through much of the accretion of ideas around Buddhism, starting with some of its own practitioners and continuing with Western perceptions.

Hardcore Zen is about seeing reality as it is. Warner provides his own take on some of the standard Buddhist ideas (including his own commentary on the Heart Sutra). His view of the classic Buddhist “life is suffering” view is that it’s about idealism: suffering is what happens when you allow your idea of how the universe should be clash with the reality of how it is, and this is different from mere pain. Desire is not something you ever escape— but you can just let the desires be and get on with your life. No enlightenment, no bliss, no life-transforming mystical visions, no pharmacological shortcuts, and quite a lot of sitting around staring at the wall (zazen)— but all that zazen does give you a chance to deal with reality as it is, without the additional burden of expectations. ( )

This is a wonderful book - the best book on Buddhism I've ever read. The author, a former punk rocker who now lives in Japan making low-budget Godzilla movies, approaches the subject through his own personal experience, and he doesn't pull his punches - he talks about the ways in which Buddhism is misrepresented, and what it really means to him. More importantly, though, he urges readers over and over to "question authority" - never take someone else's word for it; look for your own truth. Highly recommended. ( )

A good introduction to zen buddhism, although the author's attitude gets annoying at times. ( )

On the surface, it seems as though Zen and punk would have absolutely nothing to do with one another. The most common image that we usually have of Zen in the West is a serene, quiet, calmness, while punk is usually associated with the exact opposite of that However, over the course of the book, Warner paints a very convincing view of Zen as DIY religion - he makes a point to constantly stress the nature of Zen as a religion of questioning, searching, and thinking for oneself, rather than allowing others to determine what 'truth' is.
If you're the type of person who has an interest in either Zen Buddhism or punk rock, this book would definitely be recommended - it helps give a fuller view of both of the two subjects. ( )