Tricycle | Awake in the World

Buddhist blogs are abuzz with reviews of Sex, Sin, and Zen: A Buddhist Exploration of Sex from Celibacy to Polyamory and Everything in Between, a new book by Brad Warner---author, Soto Zen priest, blogger, and punk rock bass guitarist. You'll have to stay tuned to the Winter 2010 issue of Tricycle for our thoughts on the book, but for now here's what's being said in the blogosphere about Warner's latest effort, which touches on everything from porn to prostitution to the Bodhisattva vow: Though she says that the tone of the book can be all over the place and takes issue with his critiques of Wikipedia and guided meditation, blogger NellaLou found value in Warner's personal stories. She writes: His personal anecdotes are somewhat engaging and he does have a certain warmth and way of expressing acceptance of even those things he is uncomfortable with or even tacitly disapproves of. So there’s not a lot of real pretentiousness or distancing from the reader. I like that he’s honest and seems to just write like himself and not try to be somebody else or particularly care who is impressed with him (except maybe the babes sometimes). So that’s kind of comfortable to read. It feels like a conversation one would have with their little brother sometimes. When he gets into the Dharma and it’s relationship to social aspects these are quite good. That would be my favorite parts of the book. His psychological and sociological explanations are not abstract and come across as pretty well grounded. I would like to see him explore those kinds of themes a little more in the future. And I’m glad he made the effort to try to address some very complex issues. The Dharma parts are quite engaging and for the most part fairly accurate. And a little more mature than the sex parts. Verdict Read it for the Dharma but not so much for specific sex advice. More »