Ten years later, when Levine "had traded in my motorcycle for a meditation cushion," he ran into Haber in San Francisco. The ex-United Rockers leader had just quit drinking and was experiencing the roller-coaster effects of new sobriety. "He helped me with my 12-step work," says Haber, "and I asked him, 'What's this other stuff you're doing?'"

"He was a natural Dharma Punk," says Levine, using the handle he coined -- with a nod to Kerouac's book "Dharma Bums" -- to describe his fellow "spiritual revolutionaries." "And for me it was such a wonderful full circle: to be able to offer something back to someone who I had looked up to in the past."

The two remain close today and Haber's spiritual practice is stronger than ever. He volunteers at San Francisco's Zen Hospice Project, providing care and comfort to AIDS patients, many of whom are indigent. Like Levine, he was given the fisheye by some of the project's other volunteers when he arrived -- a reaction he could understand. "I used to hate hippies," he says, "and I thought meditation was just for hippies. It's all part of breaking down the walls." Are there others following the Dharma Punx example? "More than I ever dreamed of," says Haber. "The kids now are more interested in learning about spiritual practice than we ever were."

In the 10 years since his second arrest, hundreds of young people have been turning out to hear Noah Levine's story. After studying with renowned Buddhist teachers Jack Kornfield and Mary Orr, Noah began conducting classes himself, starting at Spirit Rock. He's aware that his family connection has a lot to do with the attention he's received. "I think if some other fully tattooed hooligan showed up and said, 'I'm teaching meditation,' he might not be as well received," he says with a laugh. "But also my father has reminded me, 'Your name, your lineage will open doors for you, it will get you invited in for tea. But if you don't have anything interesting to say, if you're not a good teacher, you won't be invited back.'"

Though the young people at Spirit Rock and Omega are less desperate than the captive crowds he addresses in jail, Levine still feels a connection to them. He has billed his classes as "Buddhism for the Next Generation," noting that for the most part Buddhist practice has been embraced in this country by boomers -- ex-beats and hippies. He's trying to connect with people in their 20s and 30s, even teenagers, though the song remains the same.

"I don't think the dharma is any different," he says. "The dharma -- the teaching of the Buddha, the spiritual truths -- is ageless. It's survived now for 2,500 years and each generation maybe teaches it in a different way, but it's a pretty set, simple tradition." And Buddhism and its core concepts -- that attachment causes suffering, and an end to attachment will end suffering -- is something he's happy to promote however he can.

What is the meaning of "Dharma Punx," the slogan he has tattooed on his hands and the title of his forthcoming autobiography? "It's taking that rebellion off the streets, and turning it into our own hearts and minds."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

A fight breaks out in the Justice League after the Belltones' set. Noah and I are in a doorway outside by then, catching up as kids come by to pay their respects and ask him what's happening. "I hear you've taken up smoking," a punkette says to him accusingly. "Yeah," he admits. "I started smoking when I started writing. The whole Jack Kerouac thing."

Right now, getting schmoozed by kids on the street, Noah Levine seems like some S.F. update of the teen preacher in the 1970 Christian flick "The Cross and the Switchblade." Call it "The Mandala and the Skateboard." With the trappings of materialism (he drives a '64 Impala Super Sport, maroon with tan interior these days -- "my dream car") and adoration, does he worry about his ego getting in the way of his message? "The trick is not taking it personally. It's not Noah inspiring people; it's the dharma inspiring people," he says.

Besides, adds Levine, "Whether I was doing Buddhist meditation teaching or I was doing nothing, I would still be saying hello to all those people."

Recent Stories