Dharma Punx: A Memoir (Hardcover)

by Noah Levine (Author) "Waking up in a padded cell, my head bruised and bloody, I scream with rage at an unknown assailant..." (more)
Key Phrases: dharma puox, dharma punx, getting tattooed, Santa Cruz, New Mexico, Straight Edge (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
"Buddhism and punk rock," writes former skate punk, drug addict, and petty thief and current Buddhist meditation instructor Noah Levine in his memoir Dharma Punx, "obviously have some huge differences." No argument there. "But," he continues, "for me they are both part of a single thread that has been stitched through every aspect of my life." Judging by Levine's childhood, it's amazing there's any salvageable material with which to stitch. He was suicidal at age five, smoking pot and drinking beer while crashing headlong into the Bay Area punk scene by the 8th grade, and in and out of jail as a wayward teen who stole VCRs from neighbors to finance a crack habit. After he hit bottom and embraced a Buddhist path similar to that endorsed by his father, author Stephen Levine, the trappings of his previous life were largely rejected. Except for the punk rock, which Levine channeled into a Buddhist worldview. The firs! t section of the book is harrowing as Levine details his descent into addiction and does so with a simple matter-of-fact approach that makes his tale all the more compelling. Levine is a potent central character, always sympathetic even when he's neither likable nor completely forgivable. Later sections lack the same impact and consist largely of travelogues of the author's journeys around the world in search of spiritual satisfaction along with attempts to reconcile the disparate worlds of punk and Buddhism. Nonetheless, it is satisfying to see Levine return to the juvenile halls where he was once incarcerated, this time as a counselor. While there is nothing especially unique about the literary genre of reformed addict memoir, it's a genre that rarely involves punk rockers or Buddhists. Levine's unique and skillfully related journey will appeal to punks, Buddhists, and anyone interested in the idea of redemption. --John Moe

From Publishers Weekly
Like father, like son: Levine, son of Buddhist teacher and author Stephen Levine, updates his father's path to enlightenment in this engaging memoir. The 32-year-old author spent his youth in what Buddhists would call the hell realm-here found in addictive drugs and alcohol and criminal behavior, beginning at age six with marijuana and culminating at age 17 with detoxification from alcohol in a padded cell in juvenile hall. His father's meditation instructions opened a door out of the son's psychological and spiritual prison. From that turning point the younger Levine began his own spiritual journey, starting with 12-step recovery and on to the meditation cushion, to monasteries in Asia and climactically back to the same juvenile hall where he was imprisoned, only this time to offer meditation instruction. This young-life drama plays out with a punk rock soundtrack, Levine having discovered, also at an early age, the vehicle of punk music to express vital energy. He uses a natural, conversational voice to relate his story, which makes it easier to maintain empathy not only for him but also for other troubled and benighted people-not all of whom live, as Levine has, to tell the tale of transformation. This honest, page-turning confession is also a measure of the adaptability and usefulness of the Asian tradition of Buddhism for the young and the restless of contemporary America.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; 1st edition (May 27, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060008946
• ISBN-13: 978-0060008949
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #410,921 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Tao of Me, January 29, 2004

By A Customer

I wanted to like this book, and still somehow believe Levine's heart's in the right place, so to speak. But although Dharma Punx tries at times to bypass the author's apparent total self-absorption, it consistently fails. I imagine if I met Levine, I'd be forced to re-evaluate, but alas, there's only this poorly written book trying hard to convince me he's so punk, his tattoos so cool, his early [quite privileged] life so difficult. Acceptance of one's mistakes can be the result of great wisdom, unless such "acceptance" always falls short of the willingness to interrogate one's active role in one's own suffering: in Dharma Punx, "acceptance" amounts to (probably accidental) self-glorification, with consequent sometimes subtle blaming of everything and everyone else the whole way through. It's as though you smashed your own knee with a hammer, blamed the pain on the hammer or its manufacturer, blamed the neighbors for not stopping you, and yet somehow managed to still hope to convey how cool it is to have smashed one's knees with a hammer (how punk!).

Read HARDCORE ZEN instead.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Read Hardcore Zen instead., February 4, 2004

By A Customer

A couple of people have mentioned "Hardcore Zen" and compared it to D.P. It really is way better. It is much more funny and much less pretentious. I don't doubt that D.P. is helping some people but I also have to think that just about anybody would be glad that they read Hardcore Zen.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad Writing and Spiritual Narcissism, November 30, 2003

By A Customer

Wanted to Love it. Read 40 pages and put it back on the shelf...I was smelling far too much spiritual materialism. Noah may have an interesting story, but he seems way too impressed with it himself. I found myself thinking..."Who Cares?". Hope this book offers something good to others, but it certainly didn't for me.

P.S. Cool cover, though.