Scan barcode
chrisrin's review against another edition
3.0
Wow, I haven't read other books by this author, but found this one very readable if surprising at points. I should have expected that I think based on the reputation of the author but it was my first taste of his style of writing. I would recommend this book for people who are interested in zen buddhism, memoirs, spirituality (whether or not he would like that term ;) ), etc.
thehappybooker's review against another edition
4.0
Bizarre in the best sort of way! Brad Warner (no relation to me) is irreverent about all the detritus that accumulates around religious practice while affirming the worth of the core wisdom. He's convinced me that I could call myself a secular Buddhist without being in danger of being trendy or being obliged to be all airy-wispy and breathless with impending enlightenment. I could just be being. Nice!
Brad understands that the hardest Buddhist concepts for Americans to truly 'get' are (1) Buddha is not a god and should not be worshipped (2) we need to quit believing in rugged individualism and realize we're intertwined (3) not everything has to be goal-oriented (4) emptiness is a good thing (5) even after 'enlightenment' - however that is defined - we'll still make mistakes (6) there are many schools of thought and teaching, so quit thinking you have it all figured out.
I don't share his taste in music, art, entertainment, his work ethic, or his ability to bare all his faults and failings without shame or self-justifying commentary. But he's fearless, and I highly admire that.
Warner's repeated references about his books supporting his travel and teaching get a bit wearing ("ka-ching!" is a common footnote), but I loved this book so much that I bought a used copy of "Sit Down and Shut Up" to keep reading.
Update later: Don't read "Sit Down and Shut Up." It's annoying and doesn't have wild stories and interesting ideas.
Brad understands that the hardest Buddhist concepts for Americans to truly 'get' are (1) Buddha is not a god and should not be worshipped (2) we need to quit believing in rugged individualism and realize we're intertwined (3) not everything has to be goal-oriented (4) emptiness is a good thing (5) even after 'enlightenment' - however that is defined - we'll still make mistakes (6) there are many schools of thought and teaching, so quit thinking you have it all figured out.
I don't share his taste in music, art, entertainment, his work ethic, or his ability to bare all his faults and failings without shame or self-justifying commentary. But he's fearless, and I highly admire that.
Warner's repeated references about his books supporting his travel and teaching get a bit wearing ("ka-ching!" is a common footnote), but I loved this book so much that I bought a used copy of "Sit Down and Shut Up" to keep reading.
Update later: Don't read "Sit Down and Shut Up." It's annoying and doesn't have wild stories and interesting ideas.
shane_tiernan's review against another edition
2.0
So I read about half of this with Shelley but it's just not exciting enough. We read a bunch the first couple weeks but then stalled and only read it a chapter every couple months. So we picked up a new book to read together. It's not terrible, it is interesting, just not enough when there are so many great books out there.
nicklindgren's review against another edition
3.0
There is not a lot here for people not familiar with Brad Warner's previous works. And compared to his previous works, this book is a little thin on Zen practice and a lot heavier on autobiography. While I enjoy reading about Brad's life (he's an interesting person who thinks interesting and entertaining things), Brad's life is ultimately not as interesting to me as his interpretation of Dogen's Shobogenzo in Sit Down and Shut Up.
edie_l's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
clivemeister's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this book up at random in a bookshop, based the cover, the title, and my patented method of opening at a random page about 1/3rd of the way through, reading the page, and seeing if I wanted to continue. I did, and, with some mild caveats, I'd recommend it to you, too.
Brad Warner is a teacher of Zen Buddhism. I practice (and to some small extent, teach) a secular version of Tibetan Buddhism, which is rather frowned upon by some of the Zen Buddhists as being a corruption of the original teachings. But Brad (I'm sure he won't mind me calling him Brad) ain't that guy. As well as being a Zen teacher, he is a punk rocker from the 1980s (one of the chapters describes him hanging out backstage at Ozzfest - a giant heavy metal festival), still plays with his band, lived in Japan for 11 years, worked for a movie company, has a bit of a crappy relationship with his wife, and so on. He's a real person, living his real life, just like the rest of us.
This book is a brave attempt to show a true view of a couple of fairly crappy years in Brad's particular life, and how he coped with them. The subtitle says it all: "A Trip Through Death, Sex, Divorce, and Spiritual Celebrity". He does this not by "being all Zen" about it, but by being a real, genuine, fully-engaged, human being.
Ultimately, that's the message of this book: we're all genuine, complex, brilliant, screwed-up, happy, sad, flawed, self-contradictory, human beings. He's no different from the rest of us. He's just perhaps a little bit more aware of it than some - thanks to his 25 years of practice. In the end, this is what Buddhism tries to show you, I think.
I did enjoy this book, and it's definitely entertaining enough to be worth your time to read. I was hoping, perhaps, for a little more on the Zen stuff, and a little less of the autobiography, so I'd give it three and a half stars, rounded down to three for lack of core content. Still, I'll look out for others of his - they sound like a blast!
Brad Warner is a teacher of Zen Buddhism. I practice (and to some small extent, teach) a secular version of Tibetan Buddhism, which is rather frowned upon by some of the Zen Buddhists as being a corruption of the original teachings. But Brad (I'm sure he won't mind me calling him Brad) ain't that guy. As well as being a Zen teacher, he is a punk rocker from the 1980s (one of the chapters describes him hanging out backstage at Ozzfest - a giant heavy metal festival), still plays with his band, lived in Japan for 11 years, worked for a movie company, has a bit of a crappy relationship with his wife, and so on. He's a real person, living his real life, just like the rest of us.
This book is a brave attempt to show a true view of a couple of fairly crappy years in Brad's particular life, and how he coped with them. The subtitle says it all: "A Trip Through Death, Sex, Divorce, and Spiritual Celebrity". He does this not by "being all Zen" about it, but by being a real, genuine, fully-engaged, human being.
Ultimately, that's the message of this book: we're all genuine, complex, brilliant, screwed-up, happy, sad, flawed, self-contradictory, human beings. He's no different from the rest of us. He's just perhaps a little bit more aware of it than some - thanks to his 25 years of practice. In the end, this is what Buddhism tries to show you, I think.
I did enjoy this book, and it's definitely entertaining enough to be worth your time to read. I was hoping, perhaps, for a little more on the Zen stuff, and a little less of the autobiography, so I'd give it three and a half stars, rounded down to three for lack of core content. Still, I'll look out for others of his - they sound like a blast!
gemmadee's review against another edition
3.0
A fun read about applying zen principles to real life messes.