Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens

Author: Winston, Diana

Brand: TarcherPerigee

Color: Multicolor

Edition: 1

Binding: paperback

Format: Deckle Edge

Number Of Pages: 304

Release Date: 05-08-2003

model number: FBA-|283914

Part Number: FBA-|283914

Details: Product Description


Many of today's teenagers are tired of the pressure to compete and consume-and are looking for a different way to live their lives. This book offers an alternative: the 2,500-year old practice of Buddhism.
Written in a style that will have immediate appeal to young "seekers" and those wanting to understand the ancient teachings, this book addresses such relevant topics as peer pressure, emotional difficulties, stress, fostering peace, and even protecting the environment. For everyone looking for self-help, self-esteem, and self-awareness, this book offers advice on:
•Discovering truth in a world of hype
•Finding peace amid the ups and downs of life
•Accepting ourselves
•Working with difficult emotions
•How to meditate
•Dealing with temptations and making the right decisions about sex and drugs
•Advice on volunteering, working for peace, and protecting the environment


From Booklist


Gr. 6-10. Switching between anecdotes of her own journey in Buddhism and advice on how teens can apply the Buddha's teachings to their lives, Winston offers a personal and thoughtful introduction to Buddhist thought and practice. The fundamental tenets of Buddhism are introduced through the lens of adolescence: finding karma at a high-school basketball game or promising that
metta (loving-kindness) can free teens from anger toward siblings and parents (a miracle, indeed). Winston frequently quotes from teens she has met in her work at a Buddhist center in California, showing what they have learned from Buddhism on such subjects as skipping school. The writing doesn't rely on slang that will go out of style, but Winston's retellings of Buddhist sutras and stories are delightfully colloquial ("I want to understand life," the Buddha tells his father at one point. "I can't stay cooped up in this castle"), and her celebration of inquisitiveness and doubt will appeal to readers. Give this, along with Franz Metcalf's
Buddha in Your Backpack (2002), to spiritual seekers intrigued by Buddhism.
John Green

Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


About the Author


Diana Winston is the director of mindfulness education at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) where she teaches mindfulness classes, trainings, and events for the public, as well as medical and mental health professionals, youth, and educators. She is also a member of the teachers council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Northern California and has been teaching Buddhist retreats since 2000.  She is the founder of the Buddhist Alliance for Social Engagement (BASE) with the Buddhist Peace Fellowship and is an advocate for socially engaged Buddhism, teaching the interface of Buddhism and social change nationally and internationally. She is the author of
Wide Awake, her book for teens, as well as the coauthor with Susan Smalley of
Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness. Her CD is
Mindful Meditations, available on iTunes.

EAN: 9780399528972

Package Dimensions: 8.0 x 5.3 x 1.0 inches

Languages: English