[Buddha-l] Brad Warner, HARDCORE ZEN author, appearing in New Mexico May 28

[Michael LaTorra]

Since we are talking about Zennists in New Mexico, I thought I'd mention that 
Brad Warner, author of the funny and true book HARDCORE ZEN, is coming to New 
Mexico at the invitation of our Zen Center of Las Cruces. Details follow my 
sig block below.

Regards,

Michael LaTorra

mlatorra at nmsu.edu

Department of English
New Mexico State University
MSC 3E
PO Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM 88003



HARDCORE ZEN TEACHER APPEARING MAY 28 IN LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO, USA

Brad Warner, Zen priest and author of “HARDCORE ZEN: Punk Rock, Monster
Movies & the Truth about Reality” will be coming to Las Cruces, New Mexico,
at the invitation of the Zen Center of Las Cruces.

Brad will give a talk at 7pm on Saturday, May 28, 2005 at the Unitarian
Universalist Church, 2000 S. Solano Drive.





..
Book Review of HARDCORE ZEN:
"Wickedly funny, profane, and iconoclastic. It may even change the way one
experiences reality."  - Publishers Weekly [starred review]





..
Check out Brad’s webpage “Sit Down and Shut Up” at:
http://homepage.mac.com/doubtboy/

This is how Brad Warner introduces himself on that webpage:



“My name is Brad and I'm a Buddhist.

“I was ordained in the Soto School of Zen Buddhism, the sect brought to
Japan by a dude named Dogen in the 13th century. My teacher is Gudo Wafu
Nishijima. He originally studied under Kodo Sawaki, a radical teacher who
set out to overturn pretty much all of what had become established as
Buddhism in Japan in the early 20th century. I began studying Zen in the
early 1980s in Ohio under Tim McCarthy whose teacher was Kobun Chino who was
brought to America by Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind Beginner's Mind. In
those days, I was the bassist for ODFx (or Zero Defex), a hardcore punk band
who none other than MDC cited as one of their fave groups. After ODFx bit
the dust, I signed to Midnight Records and made five albums under the band
name Dimentia 13. In 1994, I fulfilled a lifelong dream and got a job in
Tokyo, Japan with the company founded by the special effects man behind the
classic Godzilla films. I still work there.

“I also wrote a book called Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the
Truth About Reality published by Wisdom Publications. That does not mean,
however, that I am an employee of, or in any way presenting myself as a
spokesman for Wisdom Publications. They have no responsibility for the
content of this page.

“I write this page because I enjoy writing. It's an ongoing process. There's
stuff in the older articles on this very page and in my book which I would
not express quite the same way today, which I might even deny. And there's
plenty of contradiction here too. Life is like that. I am not trying to
convince anyone that what I say is true. I know that what I say is true and
that is enough for me. Whether you believe it or not is of no concern at
all. I don't want followers. All I'm saying is: Here's what I see from where
I sit.

“Whatever you do, I beg you not to ever believe in what I say. Take every
single thing with a grain -- no, make that a shaker full -- of salt. See if
it makes sense. If it does not, maybe you should throw it away immediately.
Or maybe not. And if what I say does make sense to you, question that even
more deeply.

“Words only have the meanings you choose to give to them. Nothing more.
Ultimately all words are useless. Especially if they come from an asshole
like me.

“Enjoy.”