by Josh Korda
2017, Wisdom Publications
A three-step guide to recovering from the modern addiction to consumerism, social withdrawal, and emotional inauthenticity — from life as you thought it had to be.
The Idea
If you’ve ever felt like there must be more than the rat race, or that the modern American definition of success might not be all it’s cracked up to be.
Recommended For
Those of us who are searching for more depth and meaning beyond the mainstream American approach to life and fulfillment.
The Author
Since 2005 Josh Korda been the guiding teacher of Dharma Punx NYC and is a fully empowered Dharma teacher in the Against the Stream lineage. In addition to his weekly classes, and meditation retreats for both institutions, he has led online and residential retreats for Tricycle and Lion’s Roar magazines. Josh is widely known for his podcast, which has over 1.4 million downloads, and has written numerous articles on insight meditation for Tricycle, Lion’s Roar, Buddhadharma and the Huffington Post. Josh can also be seen on Viceland TV Channel’s public-service announcements and his Dharma talks are broadcast weekly on WBAI radio.
The Pros
Josh is incredibly smart. He brings a highly intellectual perspective, incorporating concepts from modern psychology to further highlight the science and wisdom of spiritual practice.
The Cons
Josh is not here to make Buddhism palatable for you. He takes care to honor the origins and spirit of the practice, and not to “Americanize” it for more popular appeal. This is not a lesson in learning to meditate so you can be more successful on a material level. This is about distilling the Buddhist path into modern-day practice.
My Take
I started my journey of incorporating Buddhist principles and mindfulness into my life at Josh Korda’s Dharma Punx sessions in New York City. Now that I’m on the West Coast, I still listen to every talk via his podcast. You can hear the street noise on the Bowery in every episode – now that’s a test for practicing meditation.
Fun Fact
Josh’s teacher is Noah Levine, author of several memoirs and books on Buddhism and recovery, and founder of Refuge Recovery. Noah writes the forward to this book.