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Title: Dharma Punx
ISBN: B000VYX8RC
Author:
Noah, Levine
Publicate Date: 2007-08-28
Publish: 2007-08-28
List Price: $10.95
Average Customer Rating: 3.5
Format: Kindle Edition
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $8.76
Amazon Merchant Price: $8.76
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1: You take the good you take the bad
There are certainly highs and lows of this book. The high points include the overarching narrative itself: confused drug addicted teenager with no future finally has a realization that brings him to helpful spiritual practice- he now spends his life helping those in his former position. To move us through the larger story, Noah Levine uses autobiography- a technique perhaps more engaging than what might have appeared as dry if the book was just buddhist philosophy. Besides, there are plenty of those books already- this one fills a certain niche that was previously lacking. Also, there is the extra "umph" the book has in relating these past experiences to punk rockers of all ilks who would find the message impossible to swallow from someone unfamiliar with their scene and background.
Now the "lows" of the book: Generally and bluntly speaking, something just doesn't add up. Noah Levine describes his early life living with irresponsible (and abusive it seems? i couldn't decipher) parents who seemed to care little for him or his well being. Noah also seems to imply that the other circumstances of his early life were rough- namely his neighborhood, rough and tumbly friends, etc. After reading the book I searched around a bit to find that his father is a buddhist teacher- hardly the working class alcoholic I had envisioned. Secondly, turns out his "hood" wasn't so shabby. This ties into later elements that don't seem to add up: Noah describes his hard life, his addiction, his time in juvenile facilities, etc... Then, miraculously, after his "finds" buddhist practice (what a strange thing, considering he was raised by a buddhist father)he somehow has the resources to bum around the far East, not have a real job, and pursue spiritual practices as a full time task. Or, at least it seems. The problem here is money. Where is it coming from? Is he working part time at Blockbuster? Doubtful.
I may be off base here, but it seems to me that this is the story of a fairly privileged kid from sunny California who thought he had it rough because his parents divorced and his dad yelled at him a few times. Who knows, maybe at worst his dad was into a selfish spiritual trip that allowed for the neglect of his children. He ran away and got into drugs, probably spent a night in juvie hall, came back to his parents feeling awful- then, they felt bad and funded his enlightenment, freeloading tour.
It just annoys me that he seems to play the role of some kind of hardass, neglected street kid. It doesn't add up.
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2: A great read
This review based on the print version of the book:
I wish I could give this book 5 stars, but I can't. It's a great read, and I recommended it to a lot of my friends, but something is missing.
It's a very well written story of someone who should, by his own account, be dead by now, who pretty much hit rock bottom, and was saved by the Dharma. That may sound strange, but it's not a simple "I found X, and now I'm saved" book. The author found a better way to live, a quieter way to live, and to appreciate life. He could still do the (legal) things he enjoyed, and probably even enjoyed them more. Great story, great life lesson.
But I would have preferred if he would have put as much detail into his "awakening" as he did in his juvenile life. A minor knock to be sure, but something that stuck with me after I was done.
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3: Real and Riveting
I could not put this book down. From page 1 Noah grips us with the real struggles in his life, struggles that resonate. His inspired passion and fortunate intelligence allowed him to see doors as they opened. While he may not have taken advantage of his intuitive knowledge instantly (how human!) the reader is pleased to journey into calmer waters with the author as he documents his path, rough and rocky as it may have been. I applaud anyone who can know themselves and define their own truth. I'd recommend this read to anyone who has ever lived with their own dark side, had a day of angst, a moment of doubt or an instant of inspiration.
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4: Theraputic, entertaining and insightful
Dharma Punx is a raw, first-hand memoir which I am convinced is authentic, unlike certain other "memoirs" recently exposed as made-up fiction.
This book finally lets me into the mindset of the street punks I routinely encountered growing up in Berkeley - peers of mine who seemingly chose to be homeless. This book also provides excellent references to Buddhist resources (retreats, scholars, temples, ashrams, monasteries) around the globe.
Finally, this book explores mediation and realization/manifestation of one's life work, through the lens of a hardcore punk rocker, from a broken family in the Gen X era, an addict committed to recovery. This story has not been told like this ever before. It's a testament to Mr. Levine's allowing of his inner core of strength to lead his way, through the clouds of doubt and pain and the resulting self-destructive behavior which could have taken his life many times - and many of his very good friends indeed lost their lives.
This book is, to me, a successful manifestation of that commitment to live from a place of peace, self-forgiveness, compassion and the desire to serve. (Again, the author's personal identity is as a punk rocker, dedicated to sobriety, so the book does focus on his efforts to synthesize the punk aesthetic and politic with the 12 steps and the Buddhist/meditative life approach - which will not apply to every reader). NOT an easy life to choose, when so many of us just get into the rat race and keep up with the Joneses until we die.
So, for those of us who are trying to resolve our pain, our doubt, and trying to base our life choices upon our passions, rather than our fears, and trying to develop a true faith from which to live more fully, this book is a major support. Although it's not a how-to book, I gained tools for living my purpose.
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5: Thank you
I love this book. My husband is in rehab and I brought a second copy for him. He is enjoying the book. Noah shares that there is peace after the storm. He shows that hurting your self is not the way to go against the norm. His book really impacted my life and others.
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