Letters to a Dead Friend about Zen
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Through letters composed to a close friend after his death, Warner (Hardcore Zen) provides an intimate, candid reflection of his Zen practice and his career as a writer and speaker in this touching work. When Warner arrived in Germany for a Zen speaking tour in 2017, he learned that his close friend Marky Moon had died of cancer. Memories of Marky and reports of his touring experience serve as launching pads for a basic exploration of Zen Buddhist teachings on impermanence, attachment, and practice, as well as commentary on contemporary questions about the status of Zen Buddhism as a religion, sexual misconduct by Buddhist teachers, and the role of wealth and power in Buddhist institutions. Warner attempts to merge the genres of fictionalized memoir and religious/spiritual primer, which can be awkward and disorganized. Honest and forthright, Warner's trademark irreverent voice is present throughout: "There's still real punk and real metal out there if you look for it. Same with Zen... Luckily I got introduced to Zen by one of its wild men." Those who are grieving may be the best audience for Warner's close study .
