"... When Levine woke up in a padded cell, everything hurt. His wrists were raw, his head was bruised and bloody, and he was going through forced withdrawal. For hours, he cried and yelled at the guards, and then he went quiet.
Levine had been in juvenile hall many times before, but this was different. For the first time, he saw where he was and didn’t blame anyone else—not the cops or society, not his teachers or family. He saw that he was the one hurting himself and others and that he was living the consequences. In the cell’s dim fluorescent lighting, death had seemed like the only way out of his suffering. Now he felt like even more of a loser—not only had he failed at life, he’d failed to kill himself.
A wary guard roused Levine. “Your dad’s on the phone,” he said. “You can take the call, but I have to go with you.” Into the receiver, Levine ranted about his fear and regret, and in response his father made the same suggestion he always did: Meditate. That might alleviate some of the pain. Noah’s father was Stephen Levine...
All his life, Noah had rejected his father’s “hippie shit,” but this time he said he’d give it a try. So back in his cell, on a hard plastic bed, he attempted to follow the breath. He inhaled. He exhaled. And it did help. Here and there, even if it was just for a second, he was able to feel better and forget that he was locked up...
Almost ten years later, Levine was back at the very same juvenile hall, but this time he wasn’t a prisoner. He was teaching meditation to incarcerated youth. Grateful for the practice that had turned his life around, he wanted to share it with others."
“It was an amazing full circle to go back into that place of suffering for me,” he says. “I caused so much harm to so many people for so long, and that’s why I ended up in jail. Going back to be of service to that suffering population felt like a purification of past unwholesome actions. A lot of the teaching I’ve done has been healing for me and integral to my own path.”
Levine trained with renowned Insight Meditation teacher Jack Kornfield at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Today, at forty-five, Levine is a fully empowered Buddhist teacher, a dharma heir of the leading Insight Meditation teacher Jack Kornfield..."
“God has abandoned you. Fear does not serve you. Your heart has betrayed you. Only the music can guide you.
Sitting still is a pain in the ass.
Waking up is not a selfish pursuit of happiness, it is a revolutionary stance, from the inside out, for the benefit of all beings in existence.
It's easy to hate and point out everything that is wrong with the world; it is the hardest and most important work in one's life to free oneself from the bonds of fear and attachment.
The truth is, going against the internal stream of ignorance is way more rebellious than trying to start some sort of cultural revolution.
The inner revolution will not be televised or sold on the Internet. It must take place within one's own mind and heart.”
― Noah Levine
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