Dharma Punx: A Book Review

The book Dharma Punx was written by Noah Levine, the male child of bestselling root and Buddhist teacher Stephen Levine. As a writer, he uses a natural, conversational and em path focussingic juncture to narrate his story in order to render out to others who have g adept by the like ordeal as he did.This book, which was written in a precise thorough narrative sets to a greater extent or less as his autobiography, focusing chiefly on what would probably the intimately turbulent moments of this flavor when drifted from 1 effort to a nonher, from tawdry contestation to drugs and alcohol which nearly sent his life crashing down to the f pitiableer of self-destruction or suicide which he seek several times, hence the title of the first chapter is suicide Solution (Levine, 2003, p. 1).The starting point of Levines story was at the detention facility where he was confined and at the time, he was going done withdrawal symptoms as the adverse effects of drugs and alcohol w ere being flushed out of his system. It was at this point that he would nonplus to retell his tale on how he got into that situation. born(p) in 1971, his pargonnts hailed from the hippies generation of the 1960s where they revolted against the establishment at the height of the Vietnam War and one of their mantras was Make Love, non War as strong as the run out freedom of expression of their generation that in addition indulged in free drugs and sexual promiscuity as nearly, at that placeby making the term psychedelic an understatement for their generation that dark to drugs as a way to escape a harsh, brutal and cynical reality they wanted to repudiate. They were laborious to create their own brand of utopia precisely somehow, this would non be perfect as well, and this would be reflected in Levines own family.In his childhood old age in the youthful 1970s and early 80s, Levine loved to skateboard merely severalizely out of curiosity and influence, he got depende nt into punk rock and often watched punk-rock concerts as well as looking the part of a punk rocker by the time he was in his teens. Punk rock was to his generation what the psychadelic hippie movement was to his parents. Levine said that the situation of his generation make them tress to this fad like him, the youth of his generation had to have intercourse with problems like broken homes, ir trustworthy parents who were either alcoholic or drug dependents there was no responsible adult who could guide them.His parents had divorced by thusly and he would spend time with each of them, shuttling mingled with their homes in California and New Mexico. Both his parents remarried besides his mothers second marriage was fraught with disarray and the jeering of that was she met her second husband in a conjecture retreat while his father was able to move on and remarry a woman whom he truly loved and gave him a happier marriage (Levine, 2003, p. 5). However, without his enlighte ned father around to guide him, the early dayser Levine was hypersensitised to the temptations of the materialistic world.By the time he was six years old, he already began smoking marijuana and was as well as trying out other banned substances as well like cocaine. This also came hand in hand in parpickings of alcohol which would stay with him for about of his youth. He was so addicted into drugs and alcohol that by the time he was in high tame, he had engender very(prenominal)(prenominal) groundless, often getting into trouble ranging from brawls to vandalism that he was arrested several times for such behavior, something he appeared to have welcomed, owing to his punk rock influence, his own way of defying authority.He last dropped out of school and lived like a vagrant, often stealing to halt his habit (Levine, 2003, pp. 21-24). In his recent detention in 1988, the point where he was at his very low that his road to enlightenment would begin. When his father visited him, he was the one who had set him on the path by load-bearing(a) him to try speculation (Levine, 2003, pp. 3-4). At first, Levine regarded Buddhist teachings as bullshit but the moment he made an effort to try it, he underwent a obscure trans homunculusation.He began the 12-step program and started at persisting meditation sessions. He was eventually released and he started on a new path in life. Over the next few years, Levine worked spartan on his ghostly growth, even practicing celibacy and taking a pilgrimage to the Far East in search of enlightenment and even meeting and erudition from the Dalai Lama himself He would eventually finish his studies by getting a college degree but he did non stop there.He went further and obtained a grade degree in counseling psychology as well. He followed in his fathers footsteps by also change state a Buddhist teacher and of all the places where he would like to teach, he chose to be at the very same detention facility where he use t o be remanded. Although he is a totally meliorate and transformed individual, there is one thing from Levines one-time(prenominal) that he has non repudiated, his passion for punk rock. He still listens to punk rock, and still acts, looks and dresses the part.He still sports tattoos but the difference now is that his tattoos are Buddhist-inspired such as the lotus flower and Sanskrit inscriptions, making Levine a figure of speech of Hollywood actor Vin Diesel famous for his eccentric as agent XXX where he would also sport tattoos. One of the things Levine discovered about Buddhism is that it is very open-minded into tolerating anything that would compliment it. Buddhist teachings, particularly the pane of glass school of thought, say that if an individual john be one with that particular subject, that is also Buddhism.Levine himself lead shew that punk rock, contrary to what conservative thinkers may think, is not anathema to society at all. This is, of course, looking at i t from a Buddhist perspective. Other people tend to view punk rock as wild, violent and to a certain extent, destructive. As Levine would also admit, he turned to punk rock as a way of defying the status quo of his generation, much like his parents were part of the hippie movement as an expression of defiance of the status quo of their own generation as well (Levine, 2003, p.34). The nice thing about Buddhism is that it has a way of channeling the excess energy away from the destructive path. If there was one other thing that Levine learned from his enlightenment, it is that last is not the answer to his problems when he was attempting to commit suicide. For most people, to take ones life is the way of the loser, notwithstanding the samurai ideal of suicide where they would take their own lives to erase the stigma of the shame. It does not apply here and this can be interpreted in several ways.From the Hindu/Buddhist perspective, there is the concept of karma and reincarnation wh ere ones conduct in the present life would have an influence on what leave behind become of them in the next. While these beliefs love death (as a natural occurrence), it does not set ahead people to commit suicide. Based on karma, the one who commits suicide might find himself or herself reincarnated in a much lower life form because of this and surely, no one would like to be born-again as an animal or a microscopical organismIn most beliefs, death is not the end, but rather the beginning of the next phase, provided it would be allowed to take its natural course. Committing suicide would disrupt the rarefied design for the individual in the universe. One guiding light aspect of Buddhist Dharma is the tutelage ones path will be, depending on the choices made. Levines somewhat troubled past serve as the basis of his writings and teachings. We all phase of have a different doorway to dharma or spiritual practice. Suffering is a doorway.For me it was the suffering of addiction , strength and crime which opened me at a young age, 17 years old. I was incarcerated, looking at the rest of my life in prison and thought, by chance I will try dads hippie meditation bullshit. Suffering opened me to the possibility of trying meditation. (Levine, 2003, p. 246) totally in all, Dharma Punx is not only an autobiography, it is a spiritual journey of one individual who has endured probably the whisk life can throw at him, channel him on the wrong direction but through corrective enlightenment, was able to bounce back and become spiritually whole again.And if the spirit is whole, the physical carcass will follow as well. Noah Levine went through pitfall and came out of it intact. If this were to be applied in worldwideistic relations, one thing Buddhism can teach is abandon and hatred is not the answer to the problems in the world. Buddhist teachings teach compassion and empathy and if nations would like to establish fill relations with one another, they hav e to begin by establishing a spiritual connection which is first make by permit go of ones self.Buddhism teaches that the reason why there is so much suffering in this world is due to worldly desires. In international relations, the struggle for power often puts nations at odds with one another and this often leads to wars. Buddhism teaches the opposite, in letting go of these desires and to empathize. In doing do, not only are friendly relations established, but ones own interests will be met by others and one need not worry about it anymore.Finally, Dharma Punx is a very enlighten book which is highly recommended to anyone, not necessarily to those who went through the same ordeal as the author went. The author had been there and had done that yet he would not encourage anyone to go through it. Nevertheless, the book is very helpful for anyone who needs to be steered to the right direction of real happiness which is something no worldly goods can provide.