Brad Warner
Brad Warner (born March 5, 1964) is an American Sōtō Zen monk, author, blogger, documentarian and punk rock bass guitarist.
Brad Warner | |
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Brad Warner | |
Title | Priest |
Personal | |
Born | |
Religion | Buddhism |
Nationality | American |
School | Soto Zen |
Education | Kent State University |
Occupation | Author, blogger, documentarian, musician, Zen teacher |
Senior posting | |
Teacher | Gudo Wafu Nishijima |
Website | hardcorezen |
Biography
Brad Warner was born in Hamilton, Ohio,[1] in 1964. His family traveled for his father's job and Warner spent some time in Nairobi, Kenya,[2] but grew up mainly near Akron, Ohio,[3] and attended Kent State University. As a teenager Warner got into the music of the 1960s and hardcore punk,[4] and a friend of his took him to a show by Zero Defex. He auditioned for and joined the band[5] after finding out they needed a bass guitarist. He began practicing Zen Buddhism under his first teacher, Tim McCarthy.[3][6] Warner later studied with Gyomay Kubose.[4]
He has played with Dimentia 13. After the financial failure of his Dimentia 13 albums, Warner got a job in Japan with the JET Programme, and then later in 1994 with Tsuburaya Productions, the company behind Ultraman.[4] Warner played the roles of various foreigners in their programs. While in Japan, he met and trained with Gudo Wafu Nishijima, a student of Rempo Niwa Zenji, who ordained him as a priest and named him as his dharma heir in 2000.[6][7][8]
He agreed to write articles for SuicideGirls, the online soft porn site but stopped after a few years.[9]
In 2007 he directed the documentary film Cleveland’s Screaming, which depicts the punk rock scene in Akron and Cleveland in the 1980s.[10][11]
Also in 2007, Gudo Wafu Nishijima named Warner the leader of Dogen Sangha International which Nishijima had founded.[6][12] Warner dissolved the organization in April 2012.[13][14]
In 2008 Warner lost his job with the Japanese company he had been working for in the States and as of January 2009 he was self-employed.
In 2012, Warner moved to California[15][16] and started Dogen Sangha Los Angeles.[17]
In 2013, Pirooz Kalayeh directed a film about Warner entitled Brad Warner's Hardcore Zen[18][19] The film premiered on October 5, 2013 in Amsterdam at the Buddhist Film Festival of Europe.[18]
Bibliography
Fiction
- Warner, Brad (2011). Death To All Monsters!. Hardcore Zen Books. ISBN 9781257647248.
- Warner, Brad (2013). Gill Women of the Prehistoric Planet. CreateSpace. ISBN 9781482712155.
Non-Fiction
- Warner, Brad (2003). Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies & the Truth About Reality. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-380-X.
- Warner, Brad (2007). Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye. New World Library. ISBN 1-57731-559-6.
- Warner, Brad (2009). Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate: A Trip Through Death, Sex, Divorce, and Spiritual Celebrity in Search of the True Dharma. New World Library. ISBN 1-57731-654-1.
- Warner, Brad (2010). Sex, Sin, and Zen: A Buddhist Exploration of Sex from Celibacy to Polyamory and Everything in Between. New World Library. ISBN 978-1-57731-910-8.
- Nishijima, Gudo Wafu; Brad Warner (2011). Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika. Monkfish Book Publishing. ISBN 0-9833589-0-7.
- Warner, Brad (2012). Hardcore Zen Strikes Again!. Cooperative Press. ISBN 9781937513078.
- Warner, Brad (2013). There Is No God and He Is Always With You: A Search for God in Odd Places. New World Library. ISBN 9781608681839.
- Warner, Brad (2016). Don't Be a Jerk: And Other Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan's Greatest Zen Master. New World Library. ISBN 9781608683888.
- Warner, Brad (2017). It Came from Beyond Zen!: More Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan's Greatest Zen Master: 2. New World Library. ISBN 9781608685110.
- Warner, Brad (2019). Letters to a Dead Friend about Zen. New World Library. ISBN 9781608686018.
Discography
- Compilations
- The New Hope. New Hope Records. 1983.
- International P.E.A.C.E. Benefit Compilation (double LP). R Radical Records. 1984.
- Midnight X-Mess #2 LP. Midnight Records. 1986.
- Midnight X-Mess #3 LP. Midnight Records. 1987.
- Dimentia 13
- Dimentia 13. Midnight Records. 1985.
- Mirror Mind. Midnight Records. 1987.
- Disturb the Air. Midnight Records. 1989.
- T.V. Screen Head. Midnight Records. 1990.
- Flat Earth Society. Midnight Records. 1991.
- Guest appearances
- Twink and Plasticland (1989). You Need a Fairy Godmother. Midnight Records.
- 0DFx
- drop the A-bomb. Get Revenge Records. 2007. (1982 demo reissue)
- Discography. Get Revenge Records. 2007. (1982 demo and 1983 debut, 2 CD)
- War Hero. Get Revenge Records. 2007. (1983 debut reissue)
- Zero Defex. 0DFx Records. 2008. (New recordings 2007/2008)
References
- Warner, Brad (2007). Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye. New World Library. p. 248. ISBN 1-57731-559-6.
- Walters, Sarah (November 18, 2011). "Zen and the art of punk rock . . ". Manchester Evening News.
- Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye. New World Library. 2007. pp. 254. ISBN 1-57731-559-6.
- "'Question of Authority' ...?" Interviewed by Gary Gach in The Buddhist Channel, Sep. 6, 2007
- Hynes, Mary (2007-08-14). "Interview with Brad Warner". Tapestry. Archived from the original on 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
- "Sex, Sin & Zen: Brad Warner and the Lust for Enlightenment". The Huffington Post.
- Clarke, Liam (June 15, 2010). "Meet Brad, the bad boy of Zen Buddhism". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- "Brad Warner: 07-10-2013: There Is No God and He Is Always With You - Upaya Zen Center". Upaya Zen Center. 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2016-12-11.
- Brad Warner's articles for Suicide Girls
- "Cleveland's Screaming!". Distrify.
- Tone, Joe (October 3, 2007). "Cleveland's Screaming: New Doc Looks at 80s Punk Scenes". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- "Hardcore Zen (Interview)". Here and Now. 2003-09-26. Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
- "Dogen Sangha International is No More". Hardcorezen.blogspot.com.
- "Dogen Sangha International Post Mortem". Hardcorezen.blogspot.com.
- "Going to California". Hardcorezen. April 28, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- "I Love L.A." Hardcorezen. July 6, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- "Dogen Sangha Los Angeles". Retrieved April 14, 2013.
- "Hardcore Zen: The Movie". Hardcorezen. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
- Quinn, Megan (January 11, 2014). "Zen's bad boy Brad Warner translates to film". Daily Camera. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
Further reading
- Ford, James Ishmael (2006). Zen Master Who? A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-509-8.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brad Warner. |
- Official website
- Dogen Sangha Los Angeles
- Brad Warner's articles for Suicide Girls
- Dimentia 13 on the Midnight Records website
- Audio Interview Series on Buddhist Geeks
- Brad Warner's articles for Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
- Daily Practice: How to Get on the Cushion Every Day a Tricycle Dharma Talk (2014)
- Cleveland's Screaming on IMDb