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cynicgirl's review
5.0
Blessedly direct. Devoid of all the blather and 'woo-woo' ritualistic carry on. This book is a simple, straightforward discussion about Zen and what the author thinks about it all.
A good read.
A good read.
danileighta's review
4.0
This book annoyed me at first, but Warner's style grew on me. In many ways, I still think he is an arrogant so and so, but there is a ring of truth in his words. Several times throughout the book I felt exasperated by the way he was carrying on (it felt like an overlong guitar solo), but many times I also felt touched deeply.
Give this a try if you're a meditation practitioner and curious about zen. I'm not aure it would too impactful for a nonmeditator, but it's worth the read either way. I'd say 50% will hate it and 50% will enjoy, but I think most people will find something useful to take away from it.
Give this a try if you're a meditation practitioner and curious about zen. I'm not aure it would too impactful for a nonmeditator, but it's worth the read either way. I'd say 50% will hate it and 50% will enjoy, but I think most people will find something useful to take away from it.
stellarsphyr's review
4.0
A pleasant introductory book to Buddhism taken along the path of the autobiography of the author with plenty of punk references. Warner uses a combination of irreverent humor and true Buddhist lessons to explain to you exactly what zen is all about. A good book for the intro student who doesn't want to get bogged down in the lingo of Buddhism just yet.
obscuredbyclouds's review
2.0
I really liked Warner's "Don't Be a Jerk" and since Hardcore Zen was his first book and seemed more like an introduction to Zen Buddhism than the one I'd read, I thought it might be a good present for my brother. Sadly, I did not really like this one. It's less an introduction to Zen and more an introduction to Warner's life up until that point. The language isn't just "edgy" (which I expected it to be) but incredibly try hard, off-putting and makes this book very very dated. As does the fatphobia and weird anti-enviornmental takes.
Warner keeps going on about how he is totally against authority and so 'different' from anyone else - who writes likes like this past the age of 15? - but then tells of the various belief systems he adhered to. That's a totally human thing to do but the way it's presented without a hint of self awareness is incredibly off-putting. And the tone of the book is the opposite of "zen". He's so agressive and spiteful and cynical. Sure, he says you don't need to believe him and should doubt him, but he doesn't doubt any of it.
In the second half of the book, when it concentrated on zen buddhism instead of Warner's life, it got a little better. I found his straight forward way of explaining complicated issues very refreshing but it didn't take away from the bad stuff. Definitely not a book I can give as a present to anyone, and I'm a little sad about the money I spent on it. It will go into a donation bin.
Warner keeps going on about how he is totally against authority and so 'different' from anyone else - who writes likes like this past the age of 15? - but then tells of the various belief systems he adhered to. That's a totally human thing to do but the way it's presented without a hint of self awareness is incredibly off-putting. And the tone of the book is the opposite of "zen". He's so agressive and spiteful and cynical. Sure, he says you don't need to believe him and should doubt him, but he doesn't doubt any of it.
In the second half of the book, when it concentrated on zen buddhism instead of Warner's life, it got a little better. I found his straight forward way of explaining complicated issues very refreshing but it didn't take away from the bad stuff. Definitely not a book I can give as a present to anyone, and I'm a little sad about the money I spent on it. It will go into a donation bin.
chaghi's review
2.0
Too much about Brad Warner, not so much about Zen. For someone who criticizes a lot the concept of an "authority figure", the author spends too many pages being one, patronizing the reader and throwing shit to other authors / Zen masters / musicians / whatever.
He speaks way too much about himself and his life, which (to me at least) is completely irrelevant, quite ordinary and mostly uninteresting. And he tries really hard to be funny in his writing. And (again, to me) he's not.
But if you can cope with that, make an effort and put that aside, there are quite a few interesting concepts and ideas for someone who is trying to learn a bit about Zen and Buddhism from a layman, secular point of view.
He speaks way too much about himself and his life, which (to me at least) is completely irrelevant, quite ordinary and mostly uninteresting. And he tries really hard to be funny in his writing. And (again, to me) he's not.
But if you can cope with that, make an effort and put that aside, there are quite a few interesting concepts and ideas for someone who is trying to learn a bit about Zen and Buddhism from a layman, secular point of view.