Buddha in Your Backpack: Everyday Buddhism for Teens

I really enjoyed that book. Frank has made the book accessible to anybody who wants to learn more about Buddhism though the focus audience is teens. It starts briefly with the Buddha life then quickly teaches the 4 noble truths and eightfold path. It touches on various topics relevant to anybody and even goes into various Buddhist traditions and sects. It even has chapter on doing meditation and links to other Buddhist websites to get connected into local Sangha. The book is very practical and written in a good humor. The way Buddhism is practiced in US is different from many other parts where it may be the primary religion. Some great Japanese Zen teachers have been instrumental in bringing Buddhism to the current stage of acceptability and growth here. I read another book which talked about "Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism in America". A wonderful book which tells about the way Japanese Immigrants helped spread Buddhism here. The one core concept that is so riveting and draws many people to Buddhism is its insistence on avoiding dukkha. A pretty simple philosophy isn't it ?

This lovely little book offers all kinds of sound advice to teens in their everyday struggles using Buddhist ethics and principles without being preachy or dogmatic. What teen out there doesn't need to hear that they should accept themselves inspite of what the popular crowd thinks of them or if they're thin or athletic enough and so on? This is more of a self acceptance and self esteem buiding book for teens rather than one that guides them into a geniune Buddhist practice (for that, I would recommend the wonderful "Awakening the Buddha Within" by Lama Surya Das for beginning Buddhists and the simply curious of all ages), but one that even born again parents will feel comfortable giving to their child. A must for children entering into their Middle School to High School years.

Out of all the "self-help" or advice books I've purchased or been given over the years, Buddha in Your Backpack is the only one I've ever been able to read without cringing, and the first with advice I've tried to apply to my life. The author presents Buddhism not just as a religion but as a set of ideas of which anyone can take advantage. I'm the sort of person who absolutely hates being preached to, whichever religion happens to be doing it, and I'm pleased to report that Buddha in Your Backpack does none of that. It doesn't need to - one great advantage of Buddhism is that many of its teachings are so practical that they don't need a justification like "do this or our God will smite you." In fact, there's no pressure in the book to treat Buddha as a god, and not every Buddhist does so. Besides guidance towards the answers of many Big Questions, and advice for life that anyone can appreciate, there is also guidance on practices such as various forms of meditation. Whether or not this sort of thing appeals to you, there is plenty in the book that can positively influence your thinking and perhaps even provide a bit of hope for an otherwise bleak mind. And the other strength of Buddha in Your Backpack? The tone is nearly flawless, something difficult to pull off for an adult author writing for teenagers. I didn't feel either talked down to or that the author was making too much of an effort to be appealing. He's very straightforward - funny, but blunt and sensible on sensitive issues. Again, he doesn't preach, he advises. I'll admit that it's difficult to change one's lifestyle based on the advice of any book, but Buddha in Your Backpack is the best motivation I've come across. Whether you're interested in Buddhism as a religion or simply looking for a path in a muddled, confusing and generally difficult world, I can't recommend this book enough. It won't change your life, but it may well inspire you to do just that. All that, by the way, came from the fingers of a total cynic, so you'd better believe it.

As a 40-something mother of 2 teenagers, I first picked up this book at the local library to pass time while my children researched school projects. As someone who has just spent the last 2 months with the works of Chogyam Trungpa, I was ready for a little "lite" spiritual reading. What I found was a book that, yes, was simplistic in word yet still provided ample room for contemplation. Buddha in Your Backpack may be geared towards teens, but the objects of consideration presented in this book can appeal to someone of any age who is beginning their search for insight on the Eight-Fold Path and the Four Noble Truths.

If your looking for a new path in life or just looking for a good read about self improvement this book is perfect. I have been searching for long time for a I have been searching for something to relate Budhism to me and Franz Metcalf has written it. It does not preach about buddhism but relates to it every day things in the life of a teen, such as homework, relationships, bullys etc. It also includes quotes and thoughts of teen buddhist so you can relate your thoughts with them. But it also teaches the basics of buddhism like meditation, the four noble truths, the eight fold path and how to use them in daily life. I would HIGHLY recomend this book to anyone intrested in Buddhism or a great gift idea for a teen intrested in Buddhism.I could only put five stars put this book deserves many more. I could not suggest a better book to open the world of buddhism to teens.