subcultural buddhism

I first came across Buddhism when I was working with children who came from broken families. I had nothing to read and bought a book called “understanding zen” that appealed to me because it presented zen as a very intellectual spiritual practice that was – as Buddhism as a whole – very fond of rational thought. I was hooked instantly (mainly by the aesthetic) but it took me a little over two years to get the right books (more on that in a later blog), correct my understanding of zen as intellectual and actually attend a seminar at a buddhist center where I learned more about zen and Buddhism than any book can teach you. Since then I consider myself a buddhist to some extent. Meditation has helped me through some very rough times, I can feel most of the central buddhist teachings to be true, it is a concise believe system that appeals to rational thought and I love the fact that the founder of kung fu is i my lineage of thought. If you want to check out the messages and techniques of Buddhism please leave your notions about religion at the front door.

One Problem I still have with buddhist practice (apart from a lack of discipline) is with the community of people who consider themselves buddhist. It´s mostly middle class white Europeans with a serious case of the yellow fever and more hippie vocabulary than your average Woodstock or Goa dropout. Coming from a punkrock/deathmetal background I could never get comfortable with that. Sangha (the community of buddhist practitioners) is important though, so what`s a boy to do?

Some time ago I found out that I´m not the only one having these problems, there are actually people with a similar background that really provided me with an alternative.

A friend of mine gave me a book called “Hardcore Zen” by a guy named Brad Warner. He was part of a local hardcore band called Zero Defex and is a zen priest now. He also is into making monster movies (the japanese kind) and using strong language in his teachings. I love him. The book is witty, full of pop-cultural references and very down to earth. One of the best introductions on why it might be a good idea to spend your time sitting cross legged on a cushion and staring at the wall. That`s what I call an achievement. Read Hardcore Zen, read his blog and try to tame the wild monkey that is your mind. You won`t regret it. If you have some buddhist experience you might want to consider his second book “Sit down and shut up” which is a commentary on the shobogenzo, a collection of teachings from a very much admired zen teacher by the name of dogen zenji. It is not as accessible as “Hardcore Zen” but has a little more depth and less biographical information. You won`t find anything more accessible on the topic though, because Buddhism also means changing your perceptions and that`s never easy if you really go for it.

The second author I want to recommend is Noah Levine. His first book “Dharma Punx” was all over the buddhist information network when it was published and that is of course also due to the fact that Noah is a bald,heavily tattooed, articulate punk rocker that is talking about some kind of “spiritual revolution” without forgetting about his leftist background. The book is a biographical journey from a fucked up childhood in a broken home, to west coast hardcore, drug addiction, meditation, straight edge and spiritual practice. It is both interesting for aspiring buddhists and hardcore people. Noah comes from the Theravada tradition, the kind of buddhism the monks in Thailand practice and is a very down to earth guy. That`s why he can explain why you can love a band like Black Flag and still be into insight meditation or use the phrase “loving kindness” without sounding like a hippie. For more on actual teachings and meditation practices I recommend his second book “Against the Stream” even if I think that he sometimes takes his “revolution” metaphor a little too far and himself a little too serious. I also attended a meditation class of the “Dharma Punx New York” and it was really as pleasant as I imagined it. Take a look at the dharma talks in MP3 format they have on their site. There are Dharma Punx meditation groups all over the US but sadly none in Europe.

Both authors use very little buddhist vocabulary but don`t simplify a complex system of thought. Most importantly they both stress that Buddhism istn`t something you read about, or believe in – it`something you DO.

I´ll post some recommendations on general buddhist teachings/introductions soon.

mate!
randori