In Hardcore Zen erzählt Brad Warner – ehemaliger Bassist einer Punkband, Trashfilm-Fan und Zen-Mönch – mit viel Witz und Direktheit von seinem ungewöhnlichen Lebensweg zur buddhistischen Praxis. Ohne spirituelles Pathos, aber mit tiefer Einsicht beschreibt er, wie ihn nicht etwa heilige Texte oder fernöstliche Gurus, sondern das chaotische Leben selbst zum Zen führte. Sein Stil ist rau, ungeschönt und gleichzeitig erfrischend ehrlich – Zen ohne Räucherstäbchen und Lotusblüten, dafür mit der klaren Botschaft: Erleuchtung ist kein Ziel, sondern ein ständiger Prozess mitten im ganz normalen Wahnsinn des Alltags. Warner bricht mit esoterischen Klischees und zeigt, dass Zen keine Flucht vor der Welt bedeutet, sondern eine radikale Konfrontation mit der eigenen Realität. Hardcore Zen ist kein klassischer Ratgeber, sondern ein autobiografisches Manifest für alle, die sich nach echter Selbsterkenntnis sehnen – mit Humor, Selbstironie und dem Mut, unbequeme Wahrheiten auszusprechen. Dieses Buch richtet sich an Suchende und Skeptiker gleichermaßen – und an alle, die sich zwischen Rebellion und Spiritualität wiederfinden.
Brad Warner Reihenfolge der Bücher
Brad Warners Werk verbindet auf einzigartige Weise die Philosophie des Zen-Buddhismus mit Elementen des Hardcore-Punk-Rocks und der japanischen Popkultur. Als ordinierter Zen-Meister, Musiker und Bewunderer von Monsterfilmen bringt er einen unkonventionellen und direkten Ansatz in seine spirituelle Praxis und sein Schreiben ein. Seine Texte erforschen die Wahrheit über die Realität durch eine kompromisslose Linse, die sein tiefes Interesse an Authentizität und die Ablehnung von Oberflächlichkeit widerspiegelt. Warners unverwechselbare Perspektive bietet den Lesern eine erfrischende Auseinandersetzung mit tiefgründigen philosophischen Konzepten.






- 2025
- 2022
A reader-friendly guide to Zen Buddhist ethics for modern timesIn the West, Zen Buddhism has a reputation for paradoxes that defy logic. In particular, the Buddhist concept of nonduality — the realization that everything in the universe forms a single, integrated whole — is especially difficult to grasp. In The Other Side of Nothing , Zen teacher Brad Warner untangles the mystery and explains nonduality in plain English. To Warner, this is not just a philosophical nonduality forms the bedrock of Zen ethics, and once we comprehend it, many of the perplexing aspects of Zen suddenly make sense.Drawing on decades of Zen practice, he traces the interlocking relationship between Zen metaphysics and ethics, showing how a true understanding of reality — and the ultimate unity of all things — instills in us a sense of responsibility for the welfare of all beings. When we realize that our feeling of separateness from others is illusory, we have no desire to harm any creature. Warner ultimately presents an expansive overview of the Zen ethos that will give beginners and experts alike a deeper understanding of one of the world’s enduring spiritual traditions.
- 2019
Letters to a Dead Friend about Zen
- 272 Seiten
- 10 Lesestunden
The night Brad Warner learns that his childhood friend Marky has died, Warner is about to speak to a group of Zen students in Hamburg, Germany. It’s the last thing he feels like doing. What he wants to do instead is tell his friend everything he never said, to explain Zen and what he does for a living and why he spends his time “Sitting. Sitting. Sitting. Meditating my life away as it all passes by. Lighting candles and incense. Bowing to nothing.” So, as he continues his teaching tour through Europe, he writes to his friend all the things he wishes he had said. Simply and humorously, he reflects on why Zen provided him a lifeline in a difficult world. He explores grief, attachment, and the afterlife. He writes to Marky, “I’m not all that interested in Buddhism. I’m much more interested in what is true,” and then proceeds to poke and prod at that truth. The result for readers is a singular and winning meditation on Zen — and a unique tribute to both a life lost and the one Warner has found.
- 2017
It Came from Beyond Zen
- 344 Seiten
- 13 Lesestunden
Vol. 2 of Brad Warner’s Radical but Reverent Paraphrasing of Dogen’s Treasury of the True Dharma Eye In Japan in 1253, one of the great thinkers of his time died — and the world barely noticed. That man was the Zen monk Eihei Dogen. For centuries his main work, Shobogenzo, languished in obscurity, locked away in remote monasteries until scholars rediscovered it in the twentieth century. What took so long? In Brad Warner’s view, Dogen was too ahead of his time to find an appreciative audience. To bring Dogen’s work to a bigger readership, Warner began paraphrasing Shobogenzo, recasting it in simple, everyday language. The first part of this project resulted in Don’t Be a Jerk, and now Warner presents this second volume, It Came from Beyond Zen! Once again, Warner uses wry humor and incisive commentary to bridge the gap between past and present, making Dogen’s words clearer and more relevant than ever before.
- 2016
Don't be a Jerk and Other Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan's Greatest Zen Master
- 306 Seiten
- 11 Lesestunden
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.
- 2013
There is No God and He is Always with You
- 189 Seiten
- 7 Lesestunden
Can you be an atheist and still believe in God? Can you be a true believer and still doubt? Can Zen give us a way past our constant fighting about God? Brad Warner was initially interested in Buddhism because he wanted to find God, but Buddhism is usually thought of as godless. In the three decades since Warner began studying Zen, he has grappled with paradoxical questions about God and managed to come up with some answers. In this fascinating search for a way beyond the usual arguments between fundamentalists and skeptics, Warner offers a profoundly engaging and idiosyncratic take on the ineffable power of the “ground of all being.”
- 2012
Hardcore Zen Strikes Again
- 170 Seiten
- 6 Lesestunden
Exploring diverse themes, Brad Warner revisits seventeen essays that delve into vegetarianism, punk rock, and his experiences in the Japanese monster movie industry. Each piece is enriched with new analyses, providing fresh insights into his unique perspective on Zen writing. The collection includes an introduction and afterword, offering a comprehensive look at Warner's thoughts and experiences, blending personal narrative with philosophical exploration.
- 2012
Brad Warner beleuchtet humorvoll und tiefgründig das Thema Sex aus der Perspektive eines Punkrockbassisten und Zen-Meisters. Er teilt Einsichten über alltägliche Erfahrungen und Probleme, die viele Menschen betreffen, und betont die positive Wirkung eines entspannten Umgangs mit dem eigenen Sexleben.
- 2011
Für alle, die unerschrocken wie der Buddha selbst sind. Wie hilft ein echter Zen-Meister - nicht die milde lächelnden Cartoonfiguren, sondern ein echter Meister - anderen Menschen, wenn er mit seinem eigenen Schmerz beschäftigt ist? Wie meditiert er, wenn seine Welt auseinanderbricht? Ist seine Meditation in diesen Momenten etwas Wertvolles oder nur eine Flucht? Brad Warner schildert in schonungsloser Offenheit ein Jahr seines Lebens, in dem seine Mutter und seine Großmutter starben, er seinen Traumjob verlor und seine Ehe scheiterte. Gleichzeitig beschreibt er gewohnt witzig und wortgewandt, wie die Lehren Buddhas ihm halfen, mit all diesen Ereignissen fertigzuwerden und auch ein mildes Nicht-Eso-Lächeln zu entwickeln.
- 2010
With his one-of-a kind blend of autobiography, pop culture, and plainspoken Buddhism, Brad Warner explores an A-to-Z of sexual topics — from masturbation to dating, gender identity to pornography. In addition to approaching sexuality from a Buddhist perspective, he looks at Buddhism — emptiness, compassion, karma — from a sexual vantage. Throughout, he stares down the tough Can prostitution be a right livelihood? Can a good spiritual master also be really, really bad? And ultimately, what's love got to do with any of it? While no puritan when it comes to non-vanilla sexuality, Warner offers a conscious approach to sexual ethics and intimacy — real-world wisdom for our times.

