Dharma Punx

by Noah Levine

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060008954
• ISBN13: 9780060008956
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Great book for all addiction and non-addictions!

Yes this is based around his addiction and being a wild child. I feel everyone can resonate well with this book. Noah is very raw, very real. Very open about what his real feelings were and are. He does not hold back and I love that. I gave this to my son who is 22 and dealing with depression. I pray he reads it!

Drugs are just the symptom.

Just a great story of redemption. Noah started a movement that is still growing to this very day. Much love and respect from NY!

I've already lent it to a friend

Great book. Many people here say otherwise and that's fine. But first, what is it that we think the book is about from the cover and blurb? I'd say the true story of Noah Levine. His passage from privileged disturbed youth to junkie (meaning near death -no matter where one comes from, this is no longer privileged or rich in any sense) to his spiritual path. His friends, loves, adventures, discoveries, blunders, it's all in there.That's it. It's simple, funny at times, sad, inspirational, and whatever you feel once you read it. If your looking for the exact book you expect, exactly how you want it, with all of the characters behaving as you may think the Buddha might....go meditate instead:) I loved the book, truly. His practice is an amalgamation of what he has learned. If you have decided that a dogmatic Buddhist practice is who you are, albeit contradictory in more ways than one, then you will be disappointed by this book... Happy travels where ever, & however they may be!!

Memoir, not a textbook

Unlike some, I read the whole book before writing my review. The story resonated with me, but I'm the audience. I'm about the same age as the author, like a lot of the same music, and have my own experiences with using, recovery, and spiritual seeking. I don't know how the book would read to you. I'm not you, you know? But I didn't expect a textbook on Buddhism. For that I'd probably get a, I don't know, textbook on Buddhism. Instead I got a story from a contemporary of mine who told his story with honesty, humanity, and heart. It gave me some f-ing hope and that's something for which I'm always grateful. Thanks fellow trudger along the path of happy destiny. Pax.

wow, just wow

Unlike pretty much everybody else that bothered to review the book, I thoroughly enjoyed it, from first to last page. Yes, he is self-absorbed, that's the point. Yes, he has addictions to overcome, that's the point. This book is about the beginning stages of Noah's awakening. How ONE person came to the Dharma. He uses the sex, drugs and punk rock to illustrate his own short-comings. I didn't come away from his re-telling of his exploits with the idea that he was proud of himself. He was stating the facts. What he meant is up to the interpretation of the reader. He doesn't hand you an antecdoct from his life and say "see this is where I should have been practicing Ahimsa". It's left open-ended. If he misses the point, then I guess I missed that.

my yearly DPX review

This book is a fun read for lots of reasons. I notice that there are a number of negative reviews so I think it's imporant to make a couple of points. Noah writes rather specifically about meditation in juvenile hall and acts of service. He has made tangible efforts toward providing minfulness meditation training to incarcerated youth....check out the Mind Body Awareness Project based in SF and searchable online for more details. This form of service/outreach is notable. There is also a message about recovery that should not be missed--if someone goes from crack to sober, it really is worth looking at how that person recovered. Lastly and respectfully, inner peace doesn't have look to look the same for everyone, or the way you want it to. I hold that you can meditate in the mosh pit, mindfully. Metta. -chanda

a walk thru the past, a path for the future

Dharma Punx isn't only Noah's memior, it's a very accurate description of what life was like for those of us that lived & loved the punk rock lifestyle of our youth (and still do!), struggle with addiction/alcoholism & recovery issues (and even those of us who don't), and I feel it's a great starting block for those of us whom are seeking/finding/accepting a spiritual path to walk upon after the struggles. It's about taking responsiblity for ourselves, our actions, and our futures. Admitting our wrongs, and doing the best we can to live with & in Dharma, TRUTH. Noah tells his story with incredibly accuracy and honesty, even if his truth didn't paint the best pictures in life. He shares this story in an effort to help others, by giving his good & bad experiences, sharing his strengths and weaknesses, and offering his hopes. There is a real need for what he does and he does it very well, in a way that we can all relate to, young & old punks alike.I related to this book so well, and so did my teen child, whom has discovered the punk rock genes in his blood. I had many fears that he would head down the same self-destructing road that so many of us have. After reading the book, he is now practicing the simple meditation techniques that Noah wrote of & that had first put Noah on his path to persuing Buddhism. This book opened up the doors to a better way of living for my child, the power of prayer & meditation is an amazing thing.I really do believe that hearing the stories from someone that has BTDT, has witnessed and overcome self-destructive behaviors, someone that is REAL & is wrapped in a package that we can relate to or do ourselves is THE most powerful messenger we can have today. I personally cannot relate to hippies, old men in stuffy suits, yuppies, cops...and I know that most kids these days can't either.I highly recommend Dharma Punx & I thank Noah for writing it.