Book review: Dharma Punx

Review by Michelle Welch

When I began reading books about Buddhism, I looked for ebook offerings from my library. I saw Dharma Punx come up several times before I finally checked it out, and I’m actually glad for the delay. Having spent some time with my practice and experienced the two-steps-forward three-steps-back feeling that it often entails, I had more of an appreciation for the long and winding path that author Noah Levine experienced as he worked his way through both recovery and spiritual practice.

Growing up in a tumultuous home environment and possessing a strong sense of rebellion against the “hippy” ethic of his father and stepmother (noted meditation instructors Stephen and Ondrea Levine), Levine unsurprisingly fell into a cycle of drugs and criminal activity at an early age. At first the punk scene seemed welcoming to him, with its expressions of violent protest, but after an unsuccessful suicide attempt Levine finally had to admit that his way of life needed to change. His efforts to work the twelve steps, to quit his habits of graffiti and stealing, and to adopt Buddhist practice were never a straight line, and his progress is both painful and rewarding to read about. Ultimately his story is full of humanity and optimism – the path is not easy and it takes a lifetime to master, but it can be walked.

The Dharma Punx “Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society” meets at the Phoenix Shambhala Meditation Center on Tuesdays at 8:30.