Why punk and Buddhism beats “us vs. them”

Miguel Chen (Lion's Roar, 1/7/15) via TDB; Dhr. Seven, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Teenage Bottlerocket's Jolly Roger on tour

Here is meditator, Teenage Bottlerocket bassist, and yoga teacher Miguel Chen on how punk rock and searching for peace go together.

I’m a musician, a punk rocker, a Buddhist of sorts, a yogi. Most of all, I consider myself an individual. But the further I come along on my path, I realize that while that’s true — I am an individual — I am also the same as everyone else.

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The more time I spend on a meditation cushion, or turning inward during yoga, the more I realize that this “self” I have held onto so tightly for my entire existence, isn’t really what it appears to be at all.

The self is an illusion, yet also very real. Buddhism is full of seeming contradictions like this, where two truths [conventional vs. ultimate, consensus vs. objective truth] that seemingly void each other out are both true at the same time. But that’s okay.

Life often doesn’t make sense — and we don’t really need it to in order for us to appreciate and enjoy it. There are many readings and teachings about non-duality, about emptiness, non-attachment and so on, and while they are very valuable, they will never give us a true understanding of the teachings.

That can only be truly understood by diving inward, quieting the mind long enough for our deeper self to present itself. There is a part of every single human being that knows more than our ego or logical brain can interpret.

In this part there is a basic goodness, a part of us that truly knows what is right or wrong for our lives, and what our true way forward is. I love my life. And I love your life, too. No matter how different we may seem on the outside, our paths are all connected, all essential.

Sure I tour, but I teach yoga in Wyoming (Blossom Yoga).

My path isn’t any more or less valuable than your path; we are all equal pieces of something bigger [like the Mahayana-borrowed Hindu concept of Brahman]. If that’s true, the best thing we can do is to live according to our own truth and allow others the support or space they need to do the same.

I spend about half of my time traveling with my punk rock band, Teenage Bottlerocket. Over the years we’ve been able to achieve mild success: I can make a little bit of money and support myself doing something I really love.

Ever since I was a teenager, all I wanted to do was play punk rock, go on tour, and see the world. It was an important part of my path even years before I would begin really contemplating such things.

Eventually I did find myself actively looking for a deeper meaning. I was the last person I would have ever imagined would get into meditation, mindfulness, or spirituality. More

ABOUT MIGUEL CHEN: Miguel Chen is the bass player, meditation practitioner, yoga instructor, and the owner of Blossom Yoga Studio in Laramie, Wyoming. He has been featured by Lion's Roar, Punk News, Full Contact Enlightenment, Modern Vinyl, Chris Grosso’s MindPod podcast...

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