About this item
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 sharp philosophical musings on sex, evil, anger, meditation, enlightenment, death, God, sin, and happiness with an exploration of the power and pain of the punk rock ethos. Riffing on his triumphant return to Ohio for a reunion concert of Akron punk bands, Brad uncovers the real heart of Zen, in teachings and stories with a sharp smack of truth,.
About the Author
Brad Warner is an ordained Zen teacher and author of the books Sex Sin and Zen (2010) , Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate (2009) , Sit Down and Shut Up (2007) and Hardcore Zen (2004) . He maintains his own blog at http://hardcorezen.blogspot.com
He's also a writer for the Suicide Girls website, bass player for the hardcore punk rock group 0DFx (aka Zero Defex) , director of the film "Cleveland's Screaming!" and former vice president of the US branch of the company founded by the man who created Godzilla.
While playing hardcore punk in the early 80s, Brad became involved in Zen Buddhism. The realistic, no BS philosophy reminded him of the attitude the punks took towards music. He made it to Japan in 1993 where he began studying the philosophy with an iconoclastic rebel Zen Master named Gudo Nishijima. After a few years, Nishijima decided to make Brad his successor as a teacher of Zen.
He has also published work in the Buddhist magazines Shambhala Sun, Buddhadharma, and Tricycle as well as rock magazines such as Alternative Press, Maximum Rocknroll and Razorcake.
Since 2004 Brad has spoken in a variety of settings from Zen centers to public libraries, from vocational high schools to university auditoriums. Though Brad's talks always focus on the Buddhist dharma, the actual topics covered can range from the words of the ancient masters to the finer points of slam dancing, from insights to be found in the depths of marathon meditation sessions to whether Godzilla could beat up Yog the Space Monster. Lively and full of self-effacing humor, Brad prefers to respond to an audience rather than lecture them. A sampling of these can be seen on Brad's YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/doubtboy
