As a counselor known for his philosophical alignment with Buddhism and punk ideology, he identifies his Buddhist beliefs and practices with both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions.

He discovered punk rock through the boyfriend of his older sister and the first time he heard the Sex Pistols "was like hearing the voice of God" because it expressed all the dissatisfaction he felt.

[3] His teenage years were filled with drugs, violence, multiple suicide attempts and detentions at juvenile halls, which was encouraged by the punk scene.

[2][4] Shortly afterward, he became highly involved in the straight edge scene (a hardcore punk associated movement whose members avoid drug and alcohol use), attended a twelve-step program and began a meditation practice.

Mr. Levine's repetitive and continued behavior, outlined by multiple sources, would be completely inappropriate for anyone, let alone an individual privileged to be an authorized Spirit Rock teacher.

The EAR Council was established precisely to interrupt and prevent Spirit Rock teachers from causing such harm.The investigation, completed in August, concluded that Levine had likely violated the Third Precept, "to avoid creating harm through sexuality" and was followed by the dissolution of ATS.

The EAR Council then "conducted its own investigation, a long and careful process of collecting information from numerous sources in order to determine Mr. Levine's fitness for teaching.