Books: Sex, Sin and Zen

No one picks up a book on Buddhism expecting something entertaining and possibly relevant to their life without first suffering from some serious brain damage. But look, Brad Warner has done the seemingly impossible by delivering “Sex, Sin and Zen” to delight readers everywhere. 

“Sex, Sin and Zen” marks Warner's fourth book delivering the same style of writing found in his previous work. Full of wit, thought and charisma, the book looks at sexuality from a Buddhist perspective. Warner answers a variety of life pressing concerns such as “Can a Buddhist monk jack off?” “Is orgasm the highest form of meditation?” The questions Warner raises on sexuality are the same ones everyone is discussing today, he's just doing from a Buddhist perspective.

Warner hails from the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism and is an ordained Sōtō  Zen priest having trained under the tutelage of 81-year old Zen Buddhist monk Gudo Wafu Nishijima. 

Warner's main accomplishment is taking abstract Buddhist musings and presenting them for a modern audience. In his writing he distills the lessons of Buddhism by using examples from his own life and at times uses Buddhist koans to help illustrate his own ideas on sexuality. He isn't writing “Sex, Sin and Zen” like a 5th century scroll, he's writing it as a man who wrote for Suicide Girls and made monster movies. He brings Buddhism down to the real world which created it.

Warner breaks the ice on his discussion of prostitution by referring to a 15th century monk who called himself Crazy Cloud. Mr. Cloud wrote a rather famous poem titled “Sipping the Sexual Fluids of a Beautiful Woman.” Warner understands that Buddhists are humans too and Buddhism itself isn't a perfect value system. Warner isn't concerned about presenting Buddhism as a perfect philosophy of life. By referring to Crazy Cloud, Warner not only creates a highly humorous moment in his book, he also creates an understanding that although Cloud's action aren't a Buddhist ideal, Cloud wasn't entirely condemned for his actions. This difference between condemnation and commendation is at the heart of his analysis. 

Buddhism has no concept of sin within the practice. There isn't anything in Buddhism stating that a particular sex act is immoral or sin-like. Imagine, a value system that doesn't apply or foster a system of guilt on human sexuality and then attempt to judge a particular sex act – it simply wouldn't be possible. Warner presents Buddhism as a philosophy in search of a medium between two extremes.

Warner uses Japanese culture as an example of a society that views sexuality in a different light than our American society. Warner hypotheses a heavy Buddhist influence that didn't stigmatize sexuality helped shaped a very open expression of sexuality in Japan. This might just explain the strange Japanese anime porn genre of Hentai one sometimes seen on the interwebs.

At first it's difficult to come to terms with Warner's work, but as the reader continues page after page, it becomes easier to understand Warner's insight into sexuality. He isn't advocating a complete shift in how our culture values sexuality, but rather, he is more concerned that society approaches sexuality from a much more balanced perspective.

Warner argues the American view of sexuality is constructed based on Puritan values, these values have shaped our understanding of our own sexuality. Warner reshapes our perspective on human sexuality by using Buddhism as an opposing viewpoint against our current values. In reading his book, we see differently because we are shown differently.

Every chapter covers a different sex related topic from BDSM, to masturbation, to pornography to just plain dating. Warner mixes story telling with analysis with solid citations of classic Buddhist text. He includes an interview with American porn actress Nina Hartley, who happens to be a Buddhist and took Buddhist marriage vows the day of her wedding.

Warner isn't concerned about presenting Buddhism as a philosophy strictly for intellectuals or hippies, he's concerned about revealing Buddhism without ceremony and bullshit.

“Sex, Sin and Zen” is a really strange, wacky piece of fantastic writing that no human being should live without. Warner's book might be the most relevant book on Buddhist views of sexuality ever. It's a fun read, easy to get into and - it's about sex. Buy it for the title and keep it for the writing.

Note: An alternative version of this review is featured in the Sonoma State STAR Fall 2010 Issue #8.