Don't Be a Jerk: And Other Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan's Greatest Zen Master

Brad Warner

Feb 2016 · New World Library

About this ebook

The Shōbōgenzō (The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye) is a revered eight-hundred-year-old Zen Buddhism classic written by the Japanese monk Eihei Dōgen. Despite the timeless wisdom of his teachings, many consider the book difficult to understand and daunting to read. In Don’t Be a Jerk, Zen priest and bestselling author Brad Warner, through accessible paraphrasing and incisive commentary, applies Dōgen’s teachings to modern times. While entertaining and sometimes irreverent, Warner is also an astute scholar who sees in Dōgen very modern psychological concepts, as well as insights on such topics as feminism and reincarnation. Warner even shows that Dōgen offered a “Middle Way” in the currently raging debate between science and religion. For curious readers worried that Dōgen’s teachings are too philosophically opaque, Don’t Be a Jerk is hilarious, understandable, and wise.

Ratings and reviews

A nice overview of Zen for a lay person. Thanks to this book I know Zen is not for me, yet I am interested in Zen, and may attend a local Temple to experience it in person.

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About the author

Soto Zen priest Brad Warner, the author of books including Hardcore Zen and Sit Down & Shut Up, is a filmmaker, Japanese monster movie marketer, punk bassist, and popular blogger. Warner is the founder of Dogen Sangha Los Angeles.