Hardcore Zen
Punk Rock, Monster Movies & the Truth about Reality
This book takes a rather serious and irreverent look at Zen Buddhism. Using none of the frills and soft rounded edges associated (at least to me) with the topic; the author attempts to give an idea of what Zen is. He alternates between memoir style storytelling and what is clearly information out of Buddhist teachings.
As previously stated the tone is simultaneously serious and irreverent. It is exactly what I would expect out of a man who spent his youth in hardcore punk bands. Yet, his story telling is compelling. He uses enough detail to paint a picture, but leaves plenty of space for your imagination to fill in the blanks. The purpose of the book is to make Zen Buddhism accessible. He succeeds admirably.
Te book starts with a prologue in which the reader finds the author face down in a toilet at a bar. The chapters that follow include anecdotes from his life, quotes from famous punk rockers and wisdom straight from Buddha's mouth, or not apparently it doesn't matter. The take away from this book, even if zen ain't your thing is, question everything, yes that even question that.
Sorry this came out as more of a review, I will actually do a journal entry, eventually.
