Hardcore Zen/Sit Down & Shut Up

These are the first two books written by Brad Warner, and there's a third coming out early next year. Interesting guy. Most Zen masters don't have backgrounds involving being a punk rock bassist and working on the Ultraman TV series. I'd been looking for "Hardcore Zen" when I found "Sit Down & Shut Up" and ended up reading that one first. In retrospect, I think things ultimately worked out for the best that way.

"Hardcore Zen" gets off to an autobiographical start. That was fine with me, since I share some of Warner's interests, but it didn't have much to do with Zen as far as I could see. The point was actually to show how he became interested in Zen Buddhism, though it takes some time for that to become clear. The turning point was the chapter called "The Great Heart of Wisdom Sutra", which is the clearest explanation of that sutra that I've ever read. Not that I've read that deeply on the subject, but it's a rare teacher who can bring that kind of clarity to his subject, and he follows through the rest of "Hardcore Zen" in the same mode.

I suspect that one of the reasons Buddhism isn't more popular in the west is a translation problem. There are words in some languages that have no real equivalent in another, and the more distant the relationship of the original languages, the harder translation can become. And there's a lot of linguistic distance indeed between English and the eastern languages used in the countries where Buddhism began. A good interpreter can bring across the general sense of the original language, but in some cases they literally lack the words, especially when the ideas involved carry many shades of subtle meaning. I have to give major credit to Brad Warner for bringing some Zen Buddhist ideas across far more clearly than I've read elsewhere. His style is direct and engaging, though I understand some people find that style a bit abrasive.

Dr. Aether was asking me about the book "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind", and my response was that while that's an excellent book, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for a westerner's first exposure to Buddhism. I think "Hardcore Zen" just might be the book I would recommend in that role, with the caution to the reader to hang in there through the early chapters.

"Sit Down & Shut Up" is a smoother mix (which is why I'm glad I read that one first), keeping the autobiographical elements in the form of documenting a reunion of Midwestern punk bands and using the experiences as a framework to explain Dogen's "Shobogenzo". I have absolutely no experience with the work he's discussing, and so I have no opinion as to the quality of his explanation, but I can say that I found the ideas as inspiring as any of my other Buddhist reading and his presentation a lot more accessible than most for a person of my background.

I'd give both books a strong recommendation for a westerner interested in learning about Zen Buddhist concepts, especially "Hardcore Zen", with a caution to at least read through to the end of the Heart Sutra chapter if it hasn't been your cup of tea up to that point.