Punk Rock Buddhism

Buddhism and the Zen of Punk Rock
Anil Mundra (Day to Day)

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The word "punk" doesn't usually bring to mind meditation. But the growing popularity of Buddhism in the U.S. is attracting an unlikely fan base among punk rock enthusiasts. What does punk rock have to do with Buddhism?

• Punk rock and Buddhism are quite compatible, says Buddhist and punk author Noah Levine (Jaime Lyn)

"There's a disdain for authority. There's a strong sense that the individual is responsible for herself or for himself," says Brad Warner, a bona fide punk rocker and ordained Zen master.

The former bassist of Ohio-based punk rock band Zero Defex is also the author of two books on the subject: Sit Down and Shut Up, which promises "Punk Rock commentaries on Buddha, God, truth, sex, death," and Hardcore Zen, which explores Buddhism and punk's overlapping approaches to rebellion.

WARNING: Expletives and candid imagery (a Page 3 nude at 1:42, which the British get in their daily paper). Here Crass singer Eve Libertine rails against marriage and hypocrisy. Berketex is a famous bridal shop. "The object unsoiled is packed ready and waiting/For the moment of truth in this spiritual mating./The object unsoiled is packed ready and waiting,/To be owned, to be cherished, to be f***ed for the naming./The public are shocked by the state of society,/But as for you, you're a breath of purity./Well don't give me your morals, they're filth in my eyes,/You can pack them away with the rest of your lies./Your painted mask of ugly perfection,/The ring on your finger, the sign of protection,/Is the rape on Page 3, it the soldier's obsession,/How well you've been taught to support your oppression./One god. One church. One husband. One wife...."