Warner stage dives into the Sam Harris, Karen Armstrong, Christopher Hitchens mosh pit of the God or no God debate--and body surfs up with a typically provocative perspective. The fact that the book's title is Warner's mis-remembrance of a Zen monk's quote is emblematic of his profoundly engaging and idiosyncratic take on the ineffable power of the "ground of all being."

This is not a standard translation of "Mulamadhyamakakarika." Translator Nishijima Roshi believes that the original translation from Chinese into Sanskrit by the Ven. Kumarajiva (circa 400 C.E.) was faulty and that Kumarajiva's interpretation has influenced every other translation since. Avoiding reference to any other translations or commentaries, Nishijima Roshi has translated the entire text anew. This edition is, therefore, like no other. An expert in the philosophical works of Dogen Zenji (1200-1254 CE), Nishijima says in his introduction, "My own thoughts regarding Buddhism rely solely upon what Master Dogen wrote about the philosophy. So when reading the "Mulamadhyamakakarika" it is impossible for me not to be influenced by Master Dogen's Buddhist ideas." Thus this book is heavily and unabashedly influenced by the work of Master Dogen. Working with Brad Warner, Nishijima has produced a highly readable and eminently practical translation and commentary intended to be most useful to those engaged in meditation practice.
The "Mulamadhyamakakarika" (MMK) was written by Master Nagarjuna, an Indian Buddhist philosopher of the second century. Mahayana Buddhism had arrived at its golden age and Nagarjuna was considered its highest authority. The MMK is revered as the most conclusive of his several Buddhist works. Its extraordinarily precise and simple expression suggests that it was written when Master Nagarjuna was mature in his Buddhist practice and research.

Brad Warner is a Zen priest, Japanese monster movie obsessive and former punk rock bassist. In 2003, he blew the top off the Buddhist book world with his irreverent autobiography/manifesto, "Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies", and the "Truth About Reality". Now in his second book, "Sit Down and Shut Up", Brad tackles one of the great works of Zen literature, the "Shobogenzo" by thirteenth-century Zen master Dogen. Illuminating Dogen's enigmatic teachings in plain language, Brad intertwines sharp philosophical musings on sex, evil, anger, meditation, enlightenment, death, God, sin, and happiness with an exploration of the power and the pain of the punk rock ethos. With a travelogue of his triumphant return to Ohio for a reunion concert of Akron punk bands, Brad melds the antiauthoritarianism of punk with the antiauthoritarianism of Zen - with a good dose of pop culture thrown in - challenging orthodoxy and questioning everything. For those who have felt drawn to Buddhist teachings, but scared off by its stiff austerity, Brad writes with a sharp smack of truth, the real heart of Zen, in teachings and stories that cut to the heart of reality.

Author Brad Warner (Hardcore Zen, Sit Down and Shut Up, Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate, and Sex, Sin, and Zen) revisits seventeen of his earlier essays on topics ranging from vegetarianism to punk rock, working for Japanese monster movie makers, and the art of Zen writing, complete with all-new analyses, introduction and afterword.