Personal Reading

[Bokucho]

For my birthday I was given "Hardcore Zen" and it seems that people have some opinions about Brad Warner. Is there anything I should pay attention to going into this? I understand that he has some stances that some people don't agree with, and I'm just curious if I should be wary of certain things? Onka mentioned that he's made comments about gender dysphoria and has other stances I may not agree with? I'll approach it with an open mind but I also like to hear others opinions about the book as well.

Gassho,

Joshua
SatToday/LaH

[Onka]

If it wasn't for Brad I wouldn't have committed to Zen. His language was the thing that grabbed me because it was familiar and relatable. He's done a tremendous job of spreading Shikantaza around the world and if it wasn't for Brad I wouldn't have found Treeleaf.
Read his books. Enjoy his books. Form your own opinions. Just as there's things that piss me off about Jundo there are things that piss me off about Brad. And I can guarantee that I piss Jundo off at times and would piss Brad off too. Brad was very thoughtful in replying to emails I sent him asking questions about practicing too. So read his book, enjoy his book and again, form your own opinions. Who cares what I think.
Gassho
Onka

Sent from my SM-A205YN using Tapatalk

[Jakuden]

Hello,
I shamelessly will promote my husband, Richard Boyle's book, Realizing Awakened Consciousness, Interviews with Buddhist Teachers and a New Perspective on the Mind. Published a few years ago by Columbia University Press.

Dick is a practicing Zen student. He started studying Renzai Zen with Joshua Sasaki Roshi (now dishonored and passed away) 50 years ago. He is a social scientist and these two passions brought him to interview 11 Buddhist teachers about their path stories. Some names you might know-Bernie Glassman, Joseph Goldstein, Stephen Batchlor, John Tarrant to name a few. I had the honor of transcribing his interviews. It took about 10 hours for each hour and a half interview he conducted in person. It was a remarkable experience having those teachers speak word by word slowly directly into my ear budded ears. And of course for him to visit them and interview them in person... I did learn quite a lot from them. I have also learned a lot from my husband, whose path story is interesting as well.

An interesting aside he invited as many women as men to be part of his project and with the exception of a few was turned down by the majority.

Reading their stories is often moving and entertaining and enlightening.

https://cup.columbia.edu/book/realizing-awakened-consciousness/9780231170758

Also available through amazon of course.

Gassho
Anne

~lahst~

That's really neat Anne, thanks!

Gassho,
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH

[Kokuu]

For my birthday I was given "Hardcore Zen" and it seems that people have some opinions about Brad Warner. Is there anything I should pay attention to going into this? I understand that he has some stances that some people don't agree with, and I'm just curious if I should be wary of certain things?

Hi Joshua

A lot of what Brad writes about is pretty straight Zen. He also talks a lot about Japanese B-movies and the Ohio punk scene in the late 80s.

His books on Dogen - Sit Down and Shut Up, Don't Be a Jerk and It Came from Beyond Zen - are also pretty good in my opinion.

His blog and videos tend to be where he sometimes says controversial things and Brad and Jundo definitely differ over Engaged Buddhism, online Zen and probably some other stuff.

He can also be very straight over some things such as drugs and Buddhism in which he (rightly in my opinion) points out that using drugs as part of practice violates the precepts. He is very committed both to Shikantaza and Dogen and takes practice seriously.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

[Amelia]

I really like, Don't be a Jerk. I actually bought it at the airport bookstore on my way home from our Oakland retreat in 2017.

Gassho
Sat today, lah

[Shoki]

I like Thunderous Silence by Dosang Yoo. He comes from a rather esoteric Korean style but this book (mostly the first half or so) is a very clear breakdown of the Heart Sutra. I like most of what I've read by Brad Warner. I've contacted him a few times to get his take on things but I'm hesitant to say I've found his responses to be dismissive and borderline rude. But that's OK. Maybe I'm dense. People are complex.

Gassho
STlah
James

[Jundo]

For my birthday I was given "Hardcore Zen" and it seems that people have some opinions about Brad Warner. Is there anything I should pay attention to going into this? I understand that he has some stances that some people don't agree with, and I'm just curious if I should be wary of certain things? Onka mentioned that he's made comments about gender dysphoria and has other stances I may not agree with? I'll approach it with an open mind but I also like to hear others opinions about the book as well.

Gassho,

Joshua
SatToday/LaH

Brad is great on Shikantaza, and his books are fun introductions. It is really only on a few issues, like "Engaged Buddhism" and teacher ethics, that we have bumped noses over the years.

Gassho, Jundo

STLah

[Ryumon]

This week's episode of The Zen of Everything podcast discusses Zen books, including a number of recommendations from Jundo. It'll be published on Friday.

Gassho,

Kirk

sat

[Meitou]

Thank you for that, Krista! I have downloaded the audio version of Overstory and am just waiting to dive in. I love trees.

Several people have been very positive about it, including Meitou I think.

One of the best books I have read in the last few years is Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall-Kimmerer. She is a plant scientist and member of the Potawatomi Nation and speaks about plants from both the perspective of science and First Nation traditional wisdom which speaks of our interconnectedness with all things.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

Yes, I've been meaning to revisit this thread and mention Overstory, such an amazing book, absolutely inspiring and I think could be seen in the same light as it centres on our interconnectedness with all things on this earth, one of my favourite books ever. I've also started Braiding Sweetgrass, making slow progress at the moment as I have so much other reading going on.

And I can recommend Dick's book, thank you for that reminder Anne, I really enjoyed reading the interviews and gained a lot of insight into some very interesting people. Dick is a great interviewer and writer and it was a pleasure to read.

I found Brad Warner very difficult to read, and I don't always agree with what he says, but I do like and respect him as a teacher, he's straight talking and tough, and very dedicated to preserving the purity of Zen and the Dharma as he and Jundo were taught, and I personally feel that's needed at this time.
Gassho
Meitou
sattoday lah