After just finishing reading through Noah Levine’s latest book “The Heart of the Revolution: The Buddha’s Radical Teachings on Forgiveness, Compassion, and Kindness”, I’m left with the sensation that I’ve experienced the warm fuzzies while getting bounced around in a mosh pit.

Life if pretty much like that in many ways. You can choose to stick your elbow in the eye of the guy beside you who keeps pushing you and pushing you and pushing you – hoping to get a rise just so you do act on your rage or you can choose to step aside and let go of this annoyance you’re presented with.

Noah’s book speaks to this very challenge and poses that “compassion is the weapon of revolutionaries” – spiritual revolutionaries who are choosing to “defy the lies and serve the truth” in their desire to free themselves and others from suffering and become awakened beings. In this book, He speaks of the 1%, the outlaw bikers that stand apart from the law-abiding in society and ruin it for the 99% of those good folks. This concept is transposed on the Buddha’s statement that “only a handful of people in each generation – the spiritual 1%ers- would be willing to do the hard work of training the heart and mind through meditation, ethical behaviour and unconditional love for all sentient beings”. Are there that many spiritual renegades in our modern day society when we hear so many reports of how religion is on the decline or if it is adopted, is taught or practiced by those with ulterior motives than the desire to determine the truth for oneself.

The book is truly a guide for becoming a more compassionate person in a challenging world and oh gosh, this book couldn’t come soon enough as it often feels like the world is burning its way through the very handbasket that it’s going to hell in. “The Heart of the Revolution” provides teachings on mindfulness, generosity, compassion, gratitude, tonglen, forgiveness and lovingkindness. It gets into some much meatier territory than previous books as heavier subject matter such as the skandhas, impermanence, karma and the realms.

At the end of each section, practices are suggested so that the reader can go beyond just reading about the concepts covered in the book and this is where I believe the vital work is to be done as it’s one thing to read about it, but another thing to actually engage with the teachings on a day-to-day basis.

While I agree with Noah’s condemnations of some of the ways that Buddhism is being taught today, I do wish that there was a bit more of a description as to what to look for in an authentic teacher and for more communities to hold a flashlight to those who are indeed mis-representing the Buddha’s teachings.

All in all, this latest book in the Noah Levine triology is well worth picking up if you are interested in a practice guide to help you cultivate compassion in a world that needs it so badly. “The Heart of the Revolution” provides a marked departure from the punk rock roadtrip stories that Noah has told before and with this book, he fully assumes his place as an authentic, humourous, warm, engaging, personable and highly knowledgeable American Buddhist teacher -regardless of how many tattoos and Bad Brains t shirts he owns.

Brad Warner’s new book, Sex, Sin, and Zen: A Buddhist Exploration of Sex from Celibacy to Polyamory and Everything in Between, tackles a subject that is rarely discussed in Buddhist circles: Sex! Honestly, I can only really think of two teachers that are willing to discuss this topic, Noah Levine (author of Dharma Punx and Against the Stream) and Mr. Warner himself. Before I start talking about the book, it might be interesting to some of you to first discuss how Brad has been involved in discussions on the idea of “right livelihood”. Brad was a columnist for the alternative porn site Suicide Girls, this created much criticism in many Buddhist circles, that a Zen monk would write for such a website. I have found myself “defending” Brad more times than I wish to remember, I find that people are quick to judge others on the decisions that they have taken. People seem to put their teachers on pedestals, seeing as they represent the Buddha’s teachings they are meant to be held to this unrealistic ideal, they are still human after all. Also, I find that it is the critics that are creating their own suffering by clinging to these closed views, I am sure that Brad would say that he is responsible for whatever karma he may be accumulating from this work and was completely accountable from whatever may arise from this job. I don’t really want to get into it too much here, I find that I have discussed this enough and that it is time that we move on, if it makes you feel better, he no longer does the column. Brad also has a great explanation of why he decided to do it, so go get the book and check it out for yourself, and then you can form your own opinion.

Sex is a controversial topic, but it is such an important part of our lives (I mean, most people are obsessed with sex, how could we not be? It’s so much fun and feels so great! However, it is also the source of many headaches!), and there are not many texts out there that take such an honest look at the topic in relation to the dharma. Brad covers all topics, from masturbation to the porn industry to BDSM (that’s an acronym for the S&M industry kiddies) to LGBT issues and more. I find that Brad is really coming into his own as an author, I have always been a fan of his books, but he is able to present very wise and deep teachings without losing his pop-culture references and wit! (his footnotes are still the source of most of his zingers!) I don’t want to give too much away, so I have decided to share with you all one of my favourite passage from the book in hopes to entice you to go to your local independent bookstore and pick up a copy. I am sure that Brad could use your coin!

The book begins with his retelling of a talk that he gave in Montreal (514 represent Whoot!) at Casa Del Popollo (Probably one of the best bars in Montreal, go support local businesses that create community kids!) when someone asked him if Buddhists could “jack-off”. Pretty big first question after a talk if you ask me. Brad decides to respond this question by demystifying some widely held misconceptions about Buddhism in the West. Sin is a concept that is really ingrained in our collective Psyche, we were all mostly raised Christian (at least in Canada) or in Judaism and Islam where sin plays a big role in all that is morality. What we must remember however, is that Buddhism is from the Global East and does not have the concept of sin, this is something that the West brought to morality. This can been seen by how the Japanese view porn and the other facets of the sex industry. He also takes the time to clarify that Buddhism is not a religion, you may be wondering “What about all those temples with statues etc?”, but Buddhism as such is not spirituality it is realism. (I know, this book was probably in the spirituality section of the bookstore) This makes total sense when we look at the history of philosophy, which its history can be divided into two categories: idealism and materialism. Spirituality is seen as a kind of idealism “It takes the view that the spiritual world, the world of ideas, imagination, and mental formations, is the true reality.” This brings to mind the common notion in religious circles that we are souls trapped in bodies, but this is not at all a Buddhist concept. Materialism, instead of seeing material matter as nonexistent, sees it as primary. “Materialists, on the other hand, see matter as primary and spirit either as nonexistent or, at least, as negligible.” Buddhism believes that neither materialism nor idealism is correct: “We are not immaterial spirits trapped in material bodies, nor are we mere permutations of essentially dead matter who only imagine we have a spiritual side.” I am sure, if you have dabbled in Buddhism before, that you have heard the famous line out of the Heart Sutta “Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form.” “Rather, the experiential, internal, subjective, spiritual side of our day-to-day existence and the hard, external, objective, material world we inhabit are manifestations of one underlying reality that is neither spirit nor matter.” This is how we are able to perceive Buddhism as realism; so as Brad finishes this discussion by saying that when you are jerking off, just jerk off, and when you are not, then don’t.

Brad is able to give us some real-world wisdom on a topic that is definitely controversial, but I find that he has done a great job. The book brings you on an interesting journey in the world of sex: masturbation, dating, gender identity, pornography and so much more. I must admit that I found certain passages to be very interesting, there is a chapter that discusses a group in the Bay Area (that is San Francisco, Oakland, Berkley, etc for those of you unfamiliar with California) that practice Orgasm Meditation (Some interesting observations and stories that’s for sure!). He interviews Nina Hartley (porn star from the 1980s who was raised in a Zen family and is now a registered nurse and sex activist), and I really enjoyed his defense for writing for Suicide Girls. His defense is very eloquent and well thought out, he makes a great argument that we should have much more problems with people pandering base desires with instant enlightenment seminars and meditation machines, than what is being presented on the Suicide Girls website. I find that this also goes back to our Western understanding that sex = sin. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is curious about sex in Buddhism and is sick of always getting the same answer from their meditation teachers (you know the one that I am talking about, when they refer you to the rules of sex for monks in monastaries). Brad gives us insights and answers that we are able to apply in the real world, a much more pragmatic approach if you ask me!

I read this and thought “Holy Buddha Batman!” This is what I’ve been doing all these years on this blog. Picking and choosing selected videos that resonate with me (although many of them are old punkrock or skate videos!)

So here for you dear readers is the day-long TMcG sponsored “Pixelated Buddhist Conference”. Please join in and create your own as I’d love to see what other great Buddhist videos are out there circulating on the web. Drop me a line if you decided to post your own “Pixelated Buddhist Conference”.

Venerable Robina Courtin – “Be Your own Therapist

The 4 Noble Truths – in Claymation

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche – Spiritual Materialism (2)

Noah Levine- “Anger”

Ram Dass – “on Experience”

Pema Chodron – Why I became a Buddhist

Ethan Nichtern – “One City: A Declaration of Interdependence” reading at Google

His Holiness the 17th Karmapa- “How can we deal with everyday distractions?”

Brad Warner – “Skillful Means”

I’m really hoping this film will make it to Canada! Someone please drop me a line if you hear of any showings.

Meditate and Destroy

“In this teleseminar, he discusses rebellion and the Four Noble Truths, his journey through 12-steps and addiction, his work in prisons, the importance of relationship in transformation, the challenges of living non-violently and the opportunity of growing a uniquely American Buddhist tradition that embraces tattoos and cheeseburgers alongside mindfulness meditation.”

I DON”T CARE… I don’t care about what you do for a living. I want to know what you love most, and if you dare to face your demons. I don’t care how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of beaing alive. I don’t care what your fucking sign is, I want to know if you have touched the center of your sorrow, If you have been opened by life’s betrayals or if you have become hard and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can toleratepain,mine or your own, without trying to hide it or change it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; If you can get crazy and dance, letting the energy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic or to remember the limitations of being human. I don’t care if the story you are telling is true, I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it is not a pretty day, and if you can source your life from Wisdom and Compassion. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand up and shout gabba gabba hey, for no reason at all. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair. weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done for the children. I don’t care who you are, what band you are in or how cool you are. I want to know if you will stand in the middle of the fire with me and fight for what we know is right. I don’t care what religion, race, sexual preference or political stance you have. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.>>>>>Oriah Mountain Dreamer (edited by Noah Levine).

After reading Noah’s book and having the good fortune to practice with him last year at a retreat in Montreal, I’m eagerly anticipating the release of this film.