Hardcore Zen

This took me a while to get through, but it was mostly I read a little bit here and a little bit there. Warner provides an autobiography as well as a very nice treatise on Zen Buddhism. The work is very accessible overall to folks, like me, who desire to learn a bit more. Questioning is a key theme of the book, and it is one that I personally found very appealing. I did find interesting the parts about working in Japan in a monster movie studio as well. How ofter does anyone get a job that sounds so cool? Sure, it was not as glamorous as he thought, but it was interesting to read about and watch him learn and grow until he becomes a Zen master himself.

Overall, we learn that Zen is not just feel good platitudes or something exotic. It is something very down to earth and very practical. It is a belief system of action and of seeking your own answers. Even Buddha told his followers to question everything. There are some parts of this book that I will probably revisit, and it certainly makes me interested in learning more. What I do like is that Warner comes across as casual, easy to read and learn from, not pretentious at all.

By the way, he makes references to Dogen's work. If you have read his other book, Sit Down and Shut Up, you will appreciate those references more since the other book is a commentary on Dogen. However, it is not necessary to have read the other one to appreciate this one. For me, having read it, I did gain a bit more insight.

If you wish to find a pretty accessible look at Zen without a lot of fluff or fillings, this is certainly a book for you.