Brad Warner (born March 5, 1964) is an American

Sōtō Zen Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān ...

monk, author, blogger,

documentarian A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

and punk rock

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

Biography

Brad Warner was born in

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Ohio, United States. Located north of Cincinnati, Hamilton is the second largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area and the 10th largest city in Ohio. The population was 63,399 at ...

, in 1964. His family traveled for his father's job and Warner spent some time in

Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, but grew up mainly near

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city pro ...

, and attended

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in A ...

. As a teenager Warner got into the music of the 1980s and

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier pu ...

,"'Question of Authority' ...?"
Interviewed by Gary Gach in The Buddhist Channel, Sep. 6, 2007 and a friend of his took him to a show by Zero Defex. He auditioned for and joined the band after finding out they needed a

. He began practicing

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

under his first teacher, Tim McCarthy. Warner later studied with Gyomay Kubose. He has played with Dimentia 13. After the financial failure of his Dimentia 13 albums, Warner got a job in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

with the

JET Programme The , or , is a Japanese government initiative that brings college (university) graduates—mostly native speakers of English—to Japan as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) and Sports Education Advisors (SEAs) in Japanese kindergartens, elemen ...

, and then later in 1994 with

Tsuburaya Productions is a Japanese special effects studio founded in 1963 by special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya and was run by his family, until October 2007, when the family sold the company to advertising agency TYO Inc. The studio is best known for producing t ...

, the company behind

Ultraman ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman (character), Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with ''Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman (1966 ...

. Warner played the roles of various foreigners in their programs. 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. He agreed to write articles for

SuicideGirls SuicideGirls is an online community-based website that revolves around pin-up photography sets of models known as the Suicide Girls. The website was founded in 2001 by Selena Mooney ("Missy Suicide") and Sean Suhl ("Spooky"). Most of the site ...

, an online

soft porn Softcore pornography or softcore porn, is commercial still photography or film that has a pornographic or erotic component but is less sexually graphic and intrusive than hardcore pornography, defined by a lack of visual sexual penetration. Softc ...

site but stopped after a few years. In 2007 he directed the

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in ter ...

''Cleveland’s Screaming'', which depicts the punk rock scene in

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

and Cleveland in the 1980s. Also in 2007, Gudo Wafu Nishijima named Warner the leader of Dogen Sangha International which Nishijima had founded. Warner dissolved the organization in April 2012. 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. In 2012, Warner moved to California and started Dogen Sangha Los Angeles. In 2013, Pirooz Kalayeh directed a film about Warner entitled ''Brad Warner's Hardcore Zen'' The film premiered on October 5, 2013 in Amsterdam at the Buddhist Film Festival of Europe.

Bibliography

Fiction

Non-Fiction

* * * * * * * * * * *

Discography

;Compilations * * * * ;Dimentia 13 * * * * * ;Guest appearances * ;0DFx * (1982 demo reissue) * (1982 demo and 1983 debut, 2 CD) * (1983 debut reissue) * (New recordings 2007/2008)

References

External links

*
Dogen Sangha Los Angeles

Brad Warner's articles
for ''

Suicide Girls SuicideGirls is an online community-based website that revolves around pin-up photography sets of models known as the Suicide Girls. The website was founded in 2001 by Selena Mooney ("Missy Suicide") and Sean Suhl ("Spooky"). Most of the site ...

''
Dimentia 13
on the Midnight Records website
Audio Interview Series
on ''Buddhist Geeks''
Brad Warner's articles
for '' Tricycle: The Buddhist Review''
Daily Practice: How to Get on the Cushion Every Day
a ''

Tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes ...

'' Dharma Talk (2014) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Brad 1964 births Living people American monks American punk rock musicians American rock bass guitarists American Zen Buddhist spiritual teachers Kent State University alumni Musicians from Akron, Ohio Writers from Akron, Ohio People from Hamilton, Ohio Soto Zen Buddhists Zen Buddhist monks American Buddhists Zen Buddhism writers Religious leaders from Ohio 20th-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American bass guitarists Guitarists from Ohio American male bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American Buddhists