Brad Warner

Brad Warner
Brad Warner
TitlePriest
Personal life
Born (1964-03-05) March 5, 1964 (age 60)
Hamilton, Ohio
NationalityAmerican
EducationKent State University
OccupationAuthor, blogger, documentarian, musician, Zen teacher
Religious life
ReligionBuddhism
SchoolSoto Zen
Senior posting
TeacherGudo Wafu Nishijima
Websitehardcorezen.info

Brad Warner (born March 5, 1964) is an American Sōtō Zen teacher, author, blogger, documentarian and punk rock bass guitarist.[1][2]

Biography

Brad Warner was born in Hamilton, Ohio,[3] in 1964. His family traveled for his father's job and Warner spent some time in Nairobi, Kenya,[4] but grew up mainly near Akron, Ohio,[5] and attended Kent State University. As a teenager Warner got into the music of the 1980s and hardcore punk,[6] and a friend of his took him to a show by Zero Defex. He auditioned for and joined the band[7] after finding out they needed a bass guitarist. He agreed to write articles for SuicideGirls, an online soft porn site but stopped after a few years.[8]

Warner 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.[6] Warner played the roles of various foreigners in their programs.

In 2007 he directed the documentary film Cleveland’s Screaming, which depicts the punk rock scene in Akron and Cleveland in the 1980s.[9][10]

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.[citation needed]

Zen Buddhism

Warner began practicing Zen Buddhism under his first teacher, Tim McCarthy.[5][11] Warner later studied with Gyomay Kubose.[6] 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.[11][12][13]

In 2007, Gudo Wafu Nishijima named Warner the leader of Dogen Sangha International which Nishijima had founded.[11][14] Warner dissolved the organization in April 2012.[15][16]

In 2012, Warner moved to California[17][18] and started Dogen Sangha Los Angeles.[19]

In 2013, Pirooz Kalayeh directed a film about Warner entitled Brad Warner's Hardcore Zen[20][21] The film premiered on October 5, 2013 in Amsterdam at the Buddhist Film Festival of Europe.[20]

Bibliography

Fiction

  • Warner, Brad (2011). Death To All Monsters!. Hardcore Zen Books. ISBN 9781257647248.

Non-Fiction

Discography

Compilations
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
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)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Brad Warner". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2024-11-29.
  2. ^ "Brad Warner Articles". Lion’s Roar. Retrieved 2024-11-29.
  3. ^ 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 978-1-57731-559-9.
  4. ^ Walters, Sarah (November 18, 2011). "Zen and the art of punk rock . . ". Manchester Evening News.
  5. ^ a b 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 978-1-57731-559-9.
  6. ^ a b c "'Question of Authority' ...?" Interviewed by Gary Gach in The Buddhist Channel, Sep. 6, 2007
  7. ^ Hynes, Mary (2007-08-14). "Interview with Brad Warner". Tapestry. Archived from the original on 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  8. ^ Brad Warner's articles for Suicide Girls
  9. ^ "Cleveland's Screaming!". Distrify. 31 July 2023.[permanent dead link‍]
  10. ^ Tone, Joe (October 3, 2007). "Cleveland's Screaming: New Doc Looks at 80s Punk Scenes". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c "Sex, Sin & Zen: Brad Warner and the Lust for Enlightenment". The Huffington Post.
  12. ^ Clarke, Liam (June 15, 2010). "Meet Brad, the bad boy of Zen Buddhism". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Hardcore Zen (Interview)". Here and Now. 2003-09-26. Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-02-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ "Dogen Sangha International is No More". Hardcorezen.blogspot.com.
  16. ^ "Dogen Sangha International Post Mortem". Hardcorezen.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.
  17. ^ "Going to California". Hardcorezen. April 28, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  18. ^ "I Love L.A." Hardcorezen. July 6, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  19. ^ "Dogen Sangha Los Angeles". Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  20. ^ a b "Hardcore Zen: The Movie". Hardcorezen. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  21. ^ Quinn, Megan (January 11, 2014). "Zen's bad boy Brad Warner translates to film". Daily Camera. Retrieved September 10, 2019.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brad Warner.