In reaction to the pain in my life I began to close my heart and to harden myself against all forms of love. So it was with great hesitance that I experimented with Buddhist practices of kindness and compassion. In the beginning I don't think forgiveness was even in my vocabulary. The only reason I opened my self to these meditation practices, often called heart practices, at all was because I had tremendous faith in the practices of mindfulness (paying attention to the present moment), the Buddha and my teachers, who assured me that it was safe to love again.
The fact that Levine comes from a hardcore punk background lends a certain credence to his writing that is missing from some of the more fluffy, lovey-dovey writers one commonly encounters when poking around in bookstores and blogs for quality writing on Buddhism and meditation. His is an experiential Buddhism, and the fact that he has so fully embraced Buddhist teaching given his background makes his writing all the more powerful.
I look forward to checking out some of his books as soon as the funds and the space in my to-read list allows.
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