Don't Be a Jerk ─ And Other Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan's Greatest Zen Master: A Radical but Reverent Paraphrasing of Dogen's Treasury of the True Dharma Eye

The Shobogenzo is a revered but seldom-read 800-year-old Zen Buddhism classic. Great books often meet such fates but Brad Warner, a Zen priest who is a tad contrary by nature, has long been drawn to this writing. While Warner is sometimes irreverent and always entertaining he is also an astute scholar who sees very modern psychological concepts in Dogen, as well as wisdom on things like feminism and reincarnation. Finally, and most provocatively, Warner shows Dogen offering a Middle Way” between the currently raging debate between science and religion. While Warner’s writings reach readers not often prone to such study, Warner’s book sales attest to the fact that his thinking is as wise as it is colloquial, as profound as it is practical.

A Soto Zen priest, Brad Warner is a punk bassist, filmmaker, Japanese-monster-movie marketer, and popular blogger based in Los Angeles. He is the author ofHardcore Zen, Sit Down & Shut Up, Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate, There Is No God and He Is Always with You, andSex, Sin, and Zen. His writing appears on Suicidegirls.com and in Shambhala Sun, Tricycle, Buddhadharma, andAlternative Press. His website is hardcorezen.info.