Dharma Family Treasures

In this updated revised second edition of Dharma Family Treasures, Sandy Eastoak combines previous essays by lay and ordained Buddhist practitioners, children, spiritual teachers, young adults, educators, parents, writers and poets, including Diane Di Prima, Barbara Gates, and Thich Nhat Hanh, with nine new essays by Robert Aitken, Richard Nelson, Jin Harrison, Sandy Eastoak, and others. This revised edition also includes a new section containing playful and educational children's Buddhist songs.

Religions respond to capitalism, democracy, industrialization, feminism, individualism, and the phenomenon of globalization in a variety of ways. Some religions conform to these challenges, if not capitulate to them; some critique or resist them, and some work to transform the modern societies they inhabit. In this unique collection of critical essays, scholars of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Native American thought explore the tension between modernization and the family, sexuality, and marriage traditions of major religions in America. Contributors examine how various belief systems have confronted changing attitudes regarding the meaning and purpose of sex, the definition of marriage, the responsibility of fathers, and the status of children. They also discuss how family law in America is beginning to acknowledge certain religious traditions and how comparative religious ethics can explain and evaluate diverse family customs. Studies concerning the impact of religious thought and behavior on American society have never been more timely or important. Recent global events cannot be fully understood without comprehending how belief systems function and the many ways they can be employed to the benefit and detriment of societies. Responding to this critical need, American Religions and the Family presents a comprehensive portrait of religious cultures in America and offers secular society a pathway for appreciating religious tradition.

Edited by Vanessa R. Sasson, Little Buddhas brings together a wide range of scholarship and expertise to address the question of what role children have played in Buddhist literature, in particular historical contexts, and their role in specific Buddhist contexts today.

Thirty years ago, "mindfulness" was a Buddhist principle mostly obscure to the west. Today, it is a popular cure-all for Americans' daily problems. A massive and lucrative industry promotes mindfulness in every aspect of life, however mundane or unlikely: Americans of various faiths (or none at all) practice mindful eating, mindful sex, mindful parenting, mindfulness in the office, mindful sports, mindfulness-based stress relief and addiction recovery, and hire mindful divorce lawyers. Mindfulness is touted by members of Congress, CEOs, and Silicon Valley tech gurus, and is even being taught in public schools, hospitals, and the military. Focusing on such processes as the marketing, medicalization, and professionalization of meditation, Jeff Wilson reveals how Buddhism shed its countercultural image and was assimilated into mainstream American culture. The rise of mindfulness in America, Wilson argues, is a perfect example of how Buddhism enters new cultures and is domesticated: in each case, the new cultures take from Buddhism what they believe will relieve their specific distresses and concerns, and in the process create new forms of Buddhism adapted to their needs. Wilson also tackles the economics of the mindfulness movement, examining commercial programs, therapeutic services, and products such as books, films, CDs, and even smartphone applications. Mindful America is the first in-depth study of this phenomenon--invaluable for understanding how mindfulness came to be applied to such a vast array of non-religious concerns and how it can be reconciled with traditional Buddhism in America.

Rita M. Gross has long been acknowledged as a founder in the field of feminist theology. The essays in this book represent the major aspects of her work and provide an overview of her methodology in women's studies in religion and feminism.

May you have success in all endeavors. May you have peace and health in the four seasons. Chinese

Sarah Conover's collection of traditional Buddhist tales leads us to the kind of implicit understanding of ourselves and others that only stories can provide. Following the Buddha through his various transformations, these clarified, often humorous narrative journeys open the ancient masters profound and gentle teachings to persons of all ages, religions, races, and ideological persuasions. Over and over this marvelous book tells us, "let go of your anger, your fear, your greedy desire. Embrace gladness. Follow the path." And the stories themselves, simply as stories, from a wondrous pageant: of elephants, monkeys, monks, and men working through foolishness toward wisdom and delight.

With blessings for everyday events from dawn until dusk, for special activities and for specific times of the year, this collection offers children and their parents a simple and practical way of bringing a sense of the sacred into their lives.