Melissa Corkhill

By Melissa Corkhill

08th December 2016

Happy Bodhi Day! Here are our pick of the best books to introduce Buddhism to your children, and one for mindful parenting too.

Melissa Corkhill

By Melissa Corkhill

08th December 2016

Melissa Corkhill

By Melissa Corkhill

08th December 2016

The Story of Buddha by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Lovely illustrations and an easy to follow story about the life of the young buddha. A great introduction for all ages. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso was born in Tibet and is a fully accomplished meditation master and internationally renowned teacher of Buddhism. Resident in the West since 1977, he is the author of 21 highly acclaimed books that perfectly transmit the ancient wisdom of Buddhism to our modern world. He has also founded over 1100 Kadampa Buddhist Centres and groups throughout the world.

A Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles by Thich Nhat Hahn

A Handful of Quiet presents one of the best known and most innovative meditation practices developed by Thich Nhat Hanh as part of the Plum Village community’s practice with children. Pebble meditation is a playful and fun activity that parents and educators can do with their children to introduce them to meditation. It is designed to involve children in a hands-on and creative way that touches on their interconnection with nature. Practising pebble meditation can help relieve stress, increase concentration, nourish gratitude, and can help children deal with difficult emotions. A Handful of Quiet is a concrete activity that parents and educators can introduce to children in school settings, in their local communities or at home, in a way that is meaningful and inviting. It includes four full-colour meditation cards with short mindfulness poems that are recited during the meditation. Any adult wishing to plant seeds of peace, relaxation, and awareness in children will find this unique meditation guide helpful. Children can also enjoy doing pebble meditation on their own.

Is Nothing Something? by Thich Nhat Hanh

In Is Nothing Something? Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh answers heartfelt, difficult, and funny questions from children of all ages. Illustrated with original full-colour artwork by Jessica McClure, Is Nothing Something? will help adults plant the seeds of mindfulness in the young children in their lives. Beginning with the most basic questions, What is important in life? and Why is my brother mean to me? and progressing through issues that we all wrestle with, such as How do I know if I really love somebody? , How long am I going to live? , and What does God look like? , each page presents a question with a short answer from Thich Nhat Hanh, appropriate for beginning readers to work with on their own. The back of the book has practices adults can use with their children to go deeper into the answers and the first complete children s biography of Thich Nhat Hanh. Both humorous and profound, Is Nothing Something? is the perfect resource for kids with questions, adults looking for how to answer them, and anyone with questions of their own.

Buddha at Bedtime Tales of Love and Wisdom by Dharmachari-Nagaraja

Growing up in the modern world, our children have to cope with ever-increasing amounts of stress, which can hinder their development. The ancient wisdom of Buddhism, with its emphasis on peace, love and compassion, is the ideal basis for helping any child to face these challenges with inner confidence and calm. Building on the age-old art of storytelling, this beautiful book re-tells 20 ancient Buddhist tales in a way that is thoroughly fun and accessible to children. Featuring superb, full-page illustrations, the stories will transport kids into an imaginary world of enlightenment and discovery where they will meet delightful characters and discover an easy-to-understand Buddhist message - one that will help them think about how they can apply values such as patience, perseverance, honesty and generosity to their own lives. Designed to be read aloud by a parent or read by older children on their own, these compelling narratives provide a pleasurable, soothing transition into sleep.

Sitting Still Like a Frog by Eline Snel

Mindfulness—the quality of attention that combines full awareness with acceptance of each moment, just as it is—is gaining broad acceptance among mental health professionals as an adjunct to treatment. This little book is a very appealing introduction to mindfulness meditation for children and their parents. In a simple and accessible way, it describes what mindfulness is and how mindfulness-based practices can help children calm down, become more focused, fall asleep more easily, alleviate worry, manage anger, and generally become more patient and aware. The book contains eleven practices that focus on just these scenarios, along with short examples and anecdotes throughout. Included with purchase is an audio CD with guided meditations, voiced by Myla Kabat-Zinn, who along with her husband, Jon Kabat-Zinn, popularized mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) as a therapeutic approach.

Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens by Diana Winston

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, Accepting ourselves, Working with difficult emotions, Dealing with temptations and making the right decisions about sex and drugs and advice on volunteering, working for peace and protecting the environment.

The Barefoot Book of Buddhist Tales, adapted by Sherab Chodzin

The Buddha taught that life is like a dream, yet real. The ways in which we may fruitfully engage with this mystery are playfully explored in numerous tales from the folk traditions of countries including India, China, Japan and Tibet.

AND ONE FOR PARENTS…

Buddhism for Mothers A Calm Approach to Caring for Yourself and Your Children by Sarah Naphtali

Parenthood can be a time of great inner turmoil for a woman, yet parenting books invariably focus on nurturing children rather than the mothers who struggle to raise them. This book is different. It is a book for mothers. Buddhism for Mothers encourages mothers to gain the most joy out of being with their children. How can this be done calmly and with a minimum of anger, worry and negative thinking? How can mothers negotiate the changed conditions of their relationships with partners, family and even with friends? Using Buddhist practices, Sarah Napthali offers coping strategies for the day-to-day challenges of motherhood that also allow space for deeper reflection about who we are and what makes us happy. By acknowledging the sorrows as well as the joys of mothering Buddhism for Mothers can help you shift your perspective so that your mind actually helps you through your day rather than dragging you down. This is Buddhism at its most accessible, applied to the daily realities of ordinary parents.

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