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.

At 17, Noah Levine was a mess. A drug addict and minor felon, he was in juvenile hall again. It was then that his father suggested he meditate to escape from his shame about his past and fear about his future. Levine's book is a spiritual autobiography of how he went from an angry and rebellious punk rocker to founder of Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. It's a quintessential American story, an example of how the Dharma looks in the context of Western phenomena like punk rocking. Levine sees the same thread in Buddhism and punk culture, both of which are dissatisfied by the mainstream and seek to change. But the punk culture of his youth wants to change it with anger and violence, while the Buddha wants to change it with mindful compassion. Levine is also an example of the frequent mixture of Buddhism and 12-Step, which was hard for him to accept because of its teachings on a Higher Power. It was a great read, and it was very sad to see how many of Noah's young punk friends died of drugs or suicide. ( )

Noah Levine ist ein Amerikaner, der schon im Kindesalter Drogen konsumiert. Er hat Probleme mit seinem Elternhaus und der Schule und lernt die Punkerszene kennen und fühlt sich dort zuhause. Punk sein versteht er als Rebellion gegen die etablierte Gesellschaft. Ich kenne nichts von der Punkszene, kann die Gedankengänge aber nicht wirklich nachvollziehen. Dieses "gegen alles sein", aber nichts ändern. Aber vielleicht ist es so, das der Drogenkonsum und die Tatsache, dass die Beschaffung und der Konsum der Drogen den kompletten Alltag bestimmen, keine Zeit für klare Gedanken und konkrete Handlung, die das System ändern, lassen. Mir hat das Buch sehr gut gefallen, die einzige nicht nachvollziehbare Stelle im Buch war für mich der Wechsel vom Junkie zum praktizierenden Buddhisten. Des öfteren habe ich mich gefragt, wie der Autor sein Leben finanziert. Über lange Phasen hat er nicht gearbeitet, ist aber viel in der Welt herumgereist, viele Flüge, Restaurantbesuche, Hotels - das kostet doch. Sein Lebensstart war durch den exzessiven Drogenkonsum schlimm, aber für seinen Wechsel zum Buddhismus hatte er die idealen Voraussetzungen. Seine Eltern und deren Freunde sind in diesem Bereich tätig, das hat ihm einige Türen geöffnet. Fazit: Ein spannender Einblick in eine mir fremde Welt. ( )

Poorly written and seemingly contrary to Buddhist practice. I initially thought Levine was writing from the perspective of the kid he was. When it dawned on me that the narrative voice, accented with a lack of self awareness and surplus of self entitlement, stayed the same throughout, I put it down. ( )

Noah Levine (son of author and spiritual teacher Stephen Levine) describes his chaotic childhood and journey toward moderation and purpose. Crime and drugs are liberally intermixed with Noah's discovery of and deep identification with punk. After much alienation, anger, and despair, he recounts gradually moving to a primarily Buddhist perspective, incorporating spiritual practice into his life, and reintegrating himself internally and in his community and intimate relationships.

As I understood it, the book's promise was to describe the integration of the punk ethos with Buddhism, but this was discussed only superficially. Why punk was meaningful to Noah and how he saw (and sees) himself as a punk in relation to society and culture is named but not well-articulated. To put it another way, it's told but not adequately shown, so it remains an assertion rather than something the reader can really engage with. Similarly, there are many points of convergence between punk and Buddhism, and Noah names some (e.g., seeing much of life as illusory), but without exploring them or identifying points of divergence as well.

Nonetheless, the book is interesting and sometimes moving. It provides a terrific contrast to something like Eat, Love, Pray's vapid spiritual tourism that so easily removes itself from the context of the people who populate the country in which one's resort-like retreat is situated.

The "dharma punx" of the title appears to refer to a group that Noah leads, but this is never made particularly explicit. I'd have liked to know more. ( )