About this item
A Radical but Reverent Paraphrasing of Dogen's Treasury of the True Dharma Eye"Even if the whole universe is nothing but a bunch of jerks doing all kinds of jerk-type things, there is still liberation in simply not being a jerk." - Eihei Dogen (1200-1253 CE) The Shobogenzo (The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye) is a revered eight-hundred-year-old Zen Buddhism classic written by the Japanese monk Eihei Dogen. Despite the timeless wisdom of his teachings, many consider the book difficult to understand and daunting to read. In Don't Be a Jerk, Zen priest and bestselling author Brad Warner, through accessible paraphrasing and incisive commentary, applies Dogen's teachings to modern times. While entertaining and sometimes irreverent, Warner is also an astute scholar who sees in Dogen very modern psychological concepts, as well as insights on such topics as feminism and reincarnation. Warner even shows that Dogen offered a "Middle Way" in the currently raging debate between science and religion. For curious readers worried that Dogen's teachings are too philosophically opaque, Don't Be a Jerk is hilarious, understandable, and wise.
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
