There Is No God and He Is Always with You: A Search for God in Odd Places

by Brad Warner

Overview

Can you be an atheist and still believe in God?
Can you be a true believer and still doubt?
Can Zen give us a way past our constant fighting about God?

Brad Warner was initially interested in Buddhism because he wanted to find God, but Buddhism is usually thought of as godless. In the three decades since Warner began studying Zen, he has grappled with paradoxical questions about God and managed to come up with some answers. In this fascinating search for a way beyond the usual arguments between fundamentalists and skeptics, Warner offers a profoundly engaging and idiosyncratic take on the ineffable power of the “ground of all being.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608681839
Publisher:	New World Library
Publication date:	06/18/2013
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Brad Warner, a Soto Zen monk and teacher, is also a punk bassist, filmmaker, and popular blogger. He is the author of Hardcore Zen, Sit Down and Shut Up, Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate, and Sex, Sin, and Zen. A documentary about him is forthcoming from Pirooz Kalayeh, the director of Shoplifting from American Apparel. Warner lives in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Supreme Truth vii

1 Death in the Holy City 1

2 There Is No God 8

3 And He Is Always with You 17

4 Seeing God the Quick, Easy, and Effective Way! 27

5 My Meeting with God, or Enlightenment Porn 34

6 Talking to Zen Monks about God 46

7 Why Call It Buddhism? 57

8 Meditation Is the Practice of Death 64

9 The Meaning of Life 76

10 In Which I Discover the True Meaning of Faith by Going to Finland 83

11 Is Buddha God? 93

12 Sam Harris Believes in God 103

13 Morality and Karma 110

14 Does God Work Miracles in Brooklyn? 120

15 God Doesn't Have to Be Real to Exist 130

16 Suicide at a Zen Monastery 139

17 A Buddhist Christmas in Mexico 145

18 God Holds His Own Hand 153

19 Northern Ireland and the Buddhist Concept of God 159

20 Hotline to Heaven 166

21 What God Wants from You 174

22 God Is Silence 185

About the Author 189

Editorial Reviews

“At times in my life I’ve been an atheist, a Bible study teacher, a lover of quantum mechanics, and a believer that the universe is older and vaster than anything I could imagine. This book reflects the paradox of being a human interested in anything that might be divine.”
— Moby, musician and recording artist

“Insightful, refreshing, serious, humorous, and enjoyable, There Is No God and He Is Always with You takes a deep dive into the actual meaning of the word God and how it can be as useful for Zen Buddhists and atheists as for monotheists.”
— David Chadwick, author of Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki

“Brad Warner frames Buddhism with something that touches my soul on the very deepest level — humor!”
— Vicky Jenson, director of Shrek and Shark Tale

From the Publisher