As with many self-destructive kids, Noah Levine‘s search for meaning led him first to punk rock, drugs, drinking, and dissatisfaction. But the search didn’t end there. Having clearly seen the uselessness of drugs and violence, Noah looked for positive ways to channel his rebellion against what he saw as the lies of society.
Fueled by his anger and so much injustice and suffering, Levine now uses that energy and the practice of Buddhism to awaken his natural wisdom and compassion.
Noah Levine is a Buddhist teacher, author and counselor. He is trained to teach by Jack Kornfield of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA. He teaches meditation classes, workshops and retreats nationally as well as leading groups in juvenile halls and prisons. Noah holds a masters degree in counseling psychology from CIIS. He has studied with many prominent teachers in both the Theravadan and Mahayanan Buddhist traditions. He is the author of many books, including Dharma Punx and his latest, The Heart of the Revolution: The Buddha’s Radical Teachings on Forgiveness, Compassion, and Kindness.
In the following video, Noah Levine talks about meditation and the integration of this practice into everyday life.
I don’t think there’s anything that will transform our lives like sitting meditation, like the formal practice. But it’s only a stepping stone, it’s only in the service of bringing this kind of mindfulness and non-attachment and friendliness into everything we do in our lives. We sit for an hour a day, or go on retreats and sit for many hours a day, but that’s only a part of life, we have so much of life when we’re working and talking and relating to each other…that the point of spiritual practice is to transform our relationship to life. The formal practice on the cushion will do that in a way that nothing else will. But it has to be brought, integrated, engaged, in everything that we do in life.
