Dharma Punx - by Noah Levine (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Fueled by the music of revolution, anger, fear, and despair, we dyed our hair or shaved our heads ... Eating acid like it was candy and chasing speed with cheap vodka, smoking truckloads of weed, all in a vain attempt to get numb and stay numb.

This is the story of a young man and a generation of angry youths who rebelled against their parents and the unfulfilled promise of the sixties. As with many self-destructive kids, Noah Levine's search for meaning led him first to punk rock, drugs, drinking, and dissatisfaction. But the search didn't end there. Having clearly seen the uselessness of drugs and violence, Noah looked for positive ways to channel his rebellion against what he saw as the lies of society. Fueled by his anger at so much injustice and suffering, Levine now uses that energy and the practice of Buddhism to awaken his natural wisdom and compassion.

While Levine comes to embrace the same spiritual tradition as his father, bestselling author Stephen Levine, he finds his most authentic expression in connecting the seemingly opposed worlds of punk and Buddhism. As Noah Levine delved deeper into Buddhism, he chose not to reject the punk scene, instead integrating the two worlds as a catalyst for transformation. Ultimately, this is an inspiring story about maturing, and how a hostile and lost generation is finally finding its footing. This provocative report takes us deep inside the punk scene and moves from anger, rebellion, and self-destruction, to health, service to others, and genuine spiritual growth.

Review Quotes

"This honest, page-turning confession is also a measure of the adaptability and usefulness of the Asian tradition of Buddhism for the young and restless of contemporary America." -- Publishers Weekly

"Fierce and disarming in its honesty, raw and true in its expression...This is not your average spiritual autobiography!" -- Norman Fischer, Zen priest and poet, and founder of the Everyday Zen Foundation

"An entry point for many others into a potentially life-saving practice...an empathic and moving offering." -- Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Full Catastrophe Living and Wherever You Go, There You Are

"Honesty and wildness that become transformed and inspiring." -- Jack Kornfield, author of A Path With Heart

"This book is a great success story that shows that violence, negativity and self destruction doesn't accomplish anything." -- Mike Ness, lead singer of Social Distortion

"Noah takes us through his own personal genocide in this honest and at times unbearably painful account of his journey." -- Sothira, lead singer of Crucifix/Proudflesh

"Levine has a gift for plunging readers into the belly of his experience." -- Tricycle magazine