Dharma Punx by Noah Levine

[King Bob]

I found this at the library sale, and really only picked it up to trade it at Recycle Books. But since I once heard DM mention it, I thought I'd read it.

It's the story of a skater kid who becomes a punk and gradually sinks down to being a homeless junkie before age 18, but then discovers meditation and gradually straightens himself out and finally becomes a meditation teacher. I am greatly simplifying this.

I think that have to say that I found it inspiring (since I have thought about it a lot), and I rarely say that about books. But also it was an easy and quick read, which was a plus.

However, I have to take issue with his idea that buddhism and punk are similar in their rejection of the material world and materialistic society:

First, I have to ask if anyone can still take the idea of "punk revolution" seriously. Does anyone still think that punk can change the world? I rather doubt it, particularly since punks are mostly quite young. It sounds about as reasonable as a "bluegrass revolution".

Second, based of my contact with punk and punks, punk seems mainly to be a nihilistic hedonistic movement - the world is a mess, so I'm going to do whatever the hell I want. Certainly that is antithetical to Buddhism.

Finally, punk shows are violent, and that goes against the Buddha's teachings. The pit was certainly violent back in the day, and I assume it still is. I think that you could also argue that everyone is inflaming their anger and expressing it, which psychologists have shown does not blow off steam, but sets one up for a pattern of expressing extreme anger.

So while I respect what he has accomplished, I think the punk / buddhism connection is shaky at best. But it was an enjoyable read.

DM - curious for your thoughts on it.

[thatguy]

I saw him speak at Capitola Book Cafe, talking about his second book "Against the Stream". I hadn't read either of his books. I agree with you that "punx" are pretty self-involved and this potentially is a "trendy" thing - another thing to chase. That said, there's the possibility that people will get something deeper out of it, so I'm ok with it. I do believe that he's helped other kids in situations similar to his change course which is a good thing.

--tg
PS: the bluegrass revolution will not be televised

[Drunk Monk]

I've heard Levine on some radio programs and he seemed competent. I was never that much into punk, so I can't really judge it. And as for the violence aspect, I'm a Shaolin disciple, remember? I'm all about the zen of violence. I hear what you're saying about the hedonism conflict, but I will say that Dharma punx created a movement in Buddhism. It was somewhat a fashion movement, but the people I've met busting out that fashion seemed genuine (I've only met a few). Zen is kind of messed up now. They just named a liquor Zen. It's made with green tea. I have yet to try it. Did I mention my b-day was coming? But anyway, I've been trying to visualize liquors from other religions - Christian liquor, Jew liquor, Moslem liquor, Tao liquor...oh wait, Tao would work. Maybe Asian faiths make better liquors than Western ones. But back to Dharma punx, for some reason, I have no desire to read it. I'm just not that into punk. Never have been. LB and I went to a Violent Femmes show and pogoed all night until my leather jacket was soaked through with sweat, but that was so long ago and my only noteable punkish experience.

KB, read Zig Zag Zen. It's a collection of essays, so a real quick read. That's was more my style than Dharma punx.