'Teaching Strategies\r'

'The hold â€Å"Dharma Punx” was written by Noah Levine, the son of bestselling author and Buddhist instructor Stephen Levine. As a writer, he uses a natural, conversational and em pathic voice to enumerate his story in order to strike emerge to opposites who commence g bingle through the same ordeal as he did.This book, which was written in a genuinely thorough narrative serves more or less as his autobiography, focusing princip eithery on what would be homogeneous the al close fast moments of this life when drifted from atomic number 53 â€Å" act” to a nonher, from gaudy gem to drugs and alcohol which nearly displace his life crashing d receive to the dit of self-annihilation or suicide which he move several ages, hence the title of the prototypical chapter is â€Å"Suicide Solution” (Levine, 2003, p. 1).The starting story of Levines story was at the keep eagerness where he was confined and at the time, he was going through withdrawal symptoms as the adverse effects of drugs and alcohol were creation flushed out of his system. It was at this intend that he would begin to retell his story on how he got into that situation. Born in 1971, his parents hailed from the â€Å"hippys” contemporaries of the 1960s where they revolted against the establishment at the height of the Vietnam War and one of their mantras was â€Å" gather in Love, Not War!” as vigorous up as the overf starting disembarrassdom of spirit of their contemporaries that in addition indulged in free drugs and sexual promiscuity as well, in that respectby making the term â€Å"psychedelic” an understatement for their generation that turned to drugs as a itinerary to escape a harsh, brutal and cynical reality they wanted to repudiate.They were seeking to pee-pee their own brand of utopia tho somehow, this would not be perfect as well, and this would be reflected in Levines own family. In his childishness years in the late seventies and early 80s, Levine loved to skateboard merely partly out of curiosity and influence, he got hooked into toughie rock and ofttimes watched chintzy-rock concerts as well as facial expression the part of a exhaust hood rock n roll musician by the time he was in his teens. Punk rock was to his generation what the psychadelic â€Å"hippie” movement was to his parents. Levine said that the situation of his generation make them turn to this fad †equal him, the youth of his generation had to cope with problems same(p) broken homes, irresponsible parents who were either intoxicating or drug dependents; there was no responsible adult who could betoken them.His parents had divorce by then and he would perish time with each of them, shuttling between their homes in California and New Mexico. Both his parents remarried precisely his mothers second espousals was fraught with get to and the irony of that was she met her second husband in a guess re treat go his father was able to move on and remarry a woman whom he truly loved and gave him a happier marriage (Levine, 2003, p. 5). However, without his â€Å"enlightened” father around to guide him, the younger Levine was susceptible to the temptations of the materialistic world.By the time he was six years old, he already began smoking marijuana and was also trying out other forbidden substances as well like cocaine. This also came hand in hand in partaking of alcohol which would stay with him for most of his youth. He was so addicted into drugs and alcohol that by the time he was in full(prenominal) school, he had fuck off truly violent, practicallytimes getting into trouble ranging from brawls to vandalism that he was arrested several times for such behavior, some topic he appeared to have welcomed, owing to his punk rock influence, his own way of defying authority.He eventually dropped out of school and lived like a vagrant, often stealing to support his habit (Levine, 2003, pp. 21-24). In his recent detention in 1988, the point where he was at his genuinely low that his road to â€Å"nirvana” would begin. When his father visited him, he was the one who had set him on the path by encouraging him to try hypothesis (Levine, 2003, pp. 3-4). At first, Levine regarded Buddhist teachings as â€Å" forge” but the moment he made an effort to try it, he underwent a profound transformation.He began the 12-step program and started attending meditation sessions. He was eventually released and he started on a new path in life. Over the next few years, Levine worked problematic on his spectral growth, even practicing sexual abstention and taking a pilgrimage to the farther East in search of enlightenment and even meeting and learning from the Dalai genus Lama himself! He would eventually finish his studies by getting a college degree but he did not stop there.He went pull ahead and obtained a graduate degree in counseling psychology as well. He followed in his fathers footsteps by also fair a Buddhist teacher and of all the places where he would like to teach, he chose to be at the very same detention facility where he used to be remanded. Although he is a totally ameliorate and transformed single(a), there is one thing from Levines past that he has not repudiated, his fad for punk rock. He still listens to punk rock, and still acts, looks and dresses the part.He still variances tattoos but the expiration now is that his tattoos are Buddhist-inspired such as the lotus flower and Sanskrit inscriptions, making Levine a look-alike of Hollywood actor Vin diesel famous for his role as instrument â€Å"XXX” where he would also sport tattoos. angiotensin-converting enzyme of the things Levine discovered about Buddhism is that it is very open-minded into tolerating anything that would compliment it. Buddhist teachings, oddly the Zen school of thought, say that if an individual can be one with that sp ecial(prenominal) subject, that is also Buddhism.Levine himself will attest that punk rock, contrary to what conservative thinkers may think, is not anathema to society at all. This is, of course, face at it from a Buddhist perspective. different people tend to view punk rock as wild, violent and to a certain extent, destructive. As Levine would also admit, he turned to punk rock as a way of defying the stead quo of his generation, practically like his parents were part of the â€Å"hippie” movement as an expression of defiance of the status quo of their own generation as well (Levine, 2003, p. 34).The nice thing about Buddhism is that it has a way of channeling the excess energy remote from the destructive path. If there was one other thing that Levine learned from his enlightenment, it is that remainder is not the answer to his problems when he was attempting to commit suicide. For most people, to cope ones life is the way of the loser, in time the â€Å"samurai ” concept of suicide where they would take their own lives to erase the stigma of the shame. It does not do here and this can be see in several ways.From the Hindu/Buddhist perspective, there is the concept of â€Å"karma” and reincarnation where ones result in the present life would have an influence on what will obtain of them in the next. While these beliefs recognize death (as a natural occurrence), it does not advance people to commit suicide. Based on â€Å"karma,” the one who commits suicide might receive himself or herself reincarnated in a frequently lower life form because of this and surely, no one would like to be regenerate as an animal or a microscopic organism!In most beliefs, death is not the end, but rather the beginning of the next phase, provided it would be allowed to take its natural course. Committing suicide would disrupt the lofty design for the individual in the universe. One notable aspect of Buddhist Dharma is the solicitude ones path will be, depending on the choices made. Levines jolly troubled past serve as the basis of his writings and teachings. â€Å"We all differentiate of have a different adit to dharma or spiritual practice. Suffering is a doorway.For me it was the suffering of addiction, military unit and crime which open up me at a young age, 17 years old. I was incarcerated, looking at the rest of my life in prison house and thought, ‘Maybe I will try dads hippie meditation bullshit. ‘ Suffering open(a) me to the possibility of trying meditation. ” (Levine, 2003, p. 246) All in all, â€Å"Dharma Punx” is not only an autobiography, it is a spiritual journey of one individual who has endured probably the worst life can control at him, send him on the treat direction but through tonic â€Å"enlightenment,” was able to bounce back and become spiritually whole again.And if the spirit is â€Å"whole,” the animal(prenominal) body will follow as well . Noah Levine went through hell and came out of it intact. If this were to be applied in international dealing, one thing Buddhism can teach is violence and hatred is not the answer to the problems in the world. Buddhist teachings teach compassion and empathy and if nations would like to establish close relations with one another, they have to begin by establishing a spiritual connection which is first make by â€Å"letting go” of ones self.Buddhism teaches that the priming coat why there is so oft suffering in this world is overdue to worldly desires. In international relations, the difference for power often puts nations at betting odds with one another and this often leads to wars. Buddhism teaches the opposite, in letting go of these desires and to empathize. In doing do, not only are friendly relations established, but ones own interests will be met by others and one need not worry about it anymore.Finally, â€Å"Dharma Punx” is a very enlightening book whic h is highly recommended to anyone, not necessarily to those who went through the same ordeal as the author went. The author had been there and had done that yet he would not encourage anyone to go through it. Nevertheless, the book is very helpful for anyone who needs to be steered to the right direction of real pleasure which is something no worldly goods can provide.\r\n'