Don’t Be A Jerk: and other practical advice from Dogen, Japan’s greatest Zen Master by Brad Warner

Don’t Be A Jerk: and other practical advice from Dogen, Japan’s greatest Zen Master by Brad Warner is a paraphrasing of Dogen’s work for the modern people (like us) to read and enjoy.

Book Description

“A Radical but Reverent Paraphrasing of Dogen’s Treasury of the True Dharma Eye

“Even if the whole universe is nothing but a bunch of jerks doing all kinds of jerk-type things, there is still liberation in simply not being a jerk.” — Eihei Dogen (1200–1253 CE)

The Shobogenzo (The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye) is a revered eight-hundred-year-old Zen Buddhism classic written by the Japanese monk Eihei Dogen. 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 Dogen’s teachings to modern times. While entertaining and sometimes irreverent, Warner is also an astute scholar who sees in Dogen very modern psychological concepts, as well as insights on such topics as feminism and reincarnation. Warner even shows that Dogen offered a “Middle Way” in the currently raging debate between science and religion. For curious readers worried that Dogen’s teachings are too philosophically opaque, Don’t Be a Jerk is hilarious, understandable, and wise.” – Don’t Be A Jerk: and other practical advice from Dogen, Japan’s greatest Zen Master

My Thoughts

Don’t Be A Jerk: and other practical advice from Dogen, Japan’s greatest Zen Master is a fun, funny, and inspirational book. I love Brad Warner’s style of writing, and definitely want to read more of his previous books now. The philosophy in this book needs to be read by this generation as much as it did 800 years ago. Although the original text is not paraphrased line by line, Warner highlights the paragraphs throughout the book giving a significant feel for the meaning behind it.

My favorite chapter is “The Mystical Power of the Clothes You Wear”. Summed up, what you wear can affect how you act and how you think. I find this to be true each day I go to work in my nurse scrubs. I’m more of an introvert in real life, but as a Registered Nurse, I have to do many things I wouldn’t otherwise. The clothes don’t make me instantly become different, but it does help me to do my job and have the confidence that I need. This is true for many professions, students, and athletes. The clothes do matter! Think about that time you put on a great interview outfit or date outfit, and you had that extra confidence and it all worked out great. You know the power of it!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and learning more about the philosophies presented in it. I think that it is written in such a way that all types of people can enjoy it, I highly recommend it.

* Thank you to the publisher of Don’t Be A Jerk: and other practical advice from Dogen, Japan’s greatest Zen Master, New World Library, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.