Buddhism Jank

I started on Brad Warner's second book, "Sit Down and Shut Up." For those unfamiliar with the author, his first book, "Hardcore Zen" served as part memoir and part instruction into Warner's interpretation of Zen Buddhism.

Warner is no newbie. With over twenty years of experience with zazen (Zen) theory and practice, and being an ordained Zen priest, he reads as a knowledgeable instructor (i.e. "no bullshit") of the Eastern religion/philosophy. The foundation of the book is the ongoing examination of the insights of Dogen, a thirteenth-century Japanese Zen Buddhist.

What makes Warner's books unique from traditional surveys of religion is his own past. As bass player for a punk rock band in Akron, Ohio, Warner provides an unorthodox background for his interest in zazen (although the notion of a young individual unsatisfied with "proper" and "traditional" thought, as established by societal norms, turning to a derivation of the Buddha-inspired religion is not so foregone).

Coming from the rhetoric of Christopher Hitchens latest book (see below), "Sit Down and Shut Up" is a far more simple undertaking of writing. This is a strength of the book, as Warner's ethos is far more conversational in tone than scholarly discourse.

With my own experience with Buddhism and Zen (from my coursework at VCU) in the back of my mind, I found much of the first chapters to be a bit drawn-out and boring as they were devoted to subjects I was, for the most part, familiar with. However, I understand that Warner is unsure of his precise audience, and their knowledge of zazen history and implications, which creates the need for the author to clarify.

Another likable aspect of Warner is his admittance of no easy solutions, no instant enlightenment (he does not use condescension by proclaiming to be enlightened himself), and no painless cognitive transitions. He states that if one is serious to learn more about themselves, and how they behave, then one must undertake difficult practices and self-realization techniques to achieve such ends.

I tend to agree with Buddhist notions of "self," and the need to gradually rethink how one's self impacts their life. For instance, in his chapter on anger, Warner interprets a Dogen passage on the subject to impart how it is not the specific event that triggers a feeling of anger (your boss, traffic, your kids, etc.). Instead, it is one's own reaction that will determine how one responds to such unpleasant circumstances.

Warner does a much better job of explaining this than I can at the moment, but it is nonetheless an interesting analysis of the human psyche. I hope the book will continue in this vein.