num_pages: 256
description: The night Brad Warner learns that his childhood friend Marky has died Warner is about to speak to a group of Zen students in Hamburg Germany. Its the last thing he feels like doing. What he wants to do instead is tell his friend everything he never said to explain Zen and what he does for a living and why he spends his time Sitting. Sitting. Sitting. Meditating my life away as it all passes by. Lighting candles and incense. Bowing to nothing. So as he continues his teaching tour through Europe he writes to his friend all the things he wishes he had said. Simply and humorously he reflects on why Zen provided him a lifeline in a difficult world. He explores grief attachment and the afterlife. He writes to Marky Im not all that interested in Buddhism. Im much more interested in what is true and then proceeds to poke and prod at that truth. The result for readers is a singular and winning meditation on Zen  and a unique tribute to both a life lost and the one Warner has found.
language: English
title: Letters to a Dead Friend about Zen
publisher: New World Library