Customer Reviews

The Way of Youth: Buddhist Common Sense for Handling Life's Questions

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This book is an excellent collection of Buddhist responses to the questions of today's young people. "The Way of Youth" includes topics like building confidence, respecting yourself and others, developing happiness from within, dealing with peer pressure and contributing to a peaceful world. The book is written for a general audience and I believe it appeals to both teens and parents regardless of their religious beliefs. I also highly recommend a book called "Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Little Book of Eastern Wisdom" by a young Buddhist author named Taro Gold. Excellent!

Created from the popular "Discussions on Youth" series in the World Tribune (America's premier weekly Buddhist newspaper), this new book by Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai International, is an excellent collection of Ikeda's responses to the questions of today's young people.

"The Way of Youth - Buddhist Common Sense for Handling Life's Questions" includes topics such as how to build confidence and character, learning to respect both yourself and those around you, developing lasting happiness from within, dealing with peer pressure and ways to contribute to a happy, free and peaceful society.

Although Dr. Ikeda is the current leader of the world's largest Buddhist organization, this book is written for a general audience and will appeal to both teens and parents regardless of their religious background.

As Arun Gandhi, grandson and founding director of the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence recently said - "The Way of Youth is an outstanding guide to humanity. I recommend it to all who seek self-improvement."

This book is outstanding as other books for youth have been, which were written by Daisaku Ikeda. His sincerity is apparent in every single word, the encouragement he gives succeeds in enlightening the reader while envigorating his/her spirit. As always, I am left feeling more confident and alive having read one of Daisaku Ikeda's works. I truly admire this individual; he is my mentor. This book is another great success; I will always treasure the depth of its buddhist perspective, which I find so easily to be applicable to anyone's everyday life.

I bought this book to share wiht my children. But when my teenaged niece picked it up and started reading it, she couldn't put it down. Her face seemed to light up with hope as she read each chapter. At this crucial age, our teens need a voice like Daisaku Ikeda's, who will inspire then with confidence and a sense of power over their destinies. A big thumbs up from this mom (and auntie)!

For anyone who has kids or has any influence on kids, this book is totally amazing. A very different perspective on the problems that face kids and a "very noble" approach to solving them and keeping kids dignity intact. Also great insight for anyone who's having problems in every day life.

It's so refreshing to read Daisaku Ikeda's book because of his contemporary and genuine approach in reaching out to youth. His message inspires and encourages, no matter what age or culture we may have -- I've gained so much insight on treasuring the power and potential we have as a human beings. I highly recommend this book to anyone!

Educator, philosopher, and spiritual leader Daisaku Ikeda presents a wonderfully accessible approach to the timeless wisdom of Buddhism and its relevance to the problems and conditions of today's young people. Ikeda's The Way Of Youth: Buddhist Common Sense For Handling Life's Questions shows the reader how to flourish as a young person in the world today; how to build confidence and character in a modern society; learn to live with respect for oneself and others; how to contribute to a positive, free and peaceful society; and find true personal happiness. The Way Of Youth is a superb contribution to Buddhist "life style" literature and is especially recommended to teenage and young adult readers.

This book is amazing! It taught me great morals and it inspired me so much! Daisaku Ikeda is an amazing man. He has sooo much in common with the Pope!

I found Mr. Ikeda's book moving to say the least. It is refreshing to find a book that speaks so directly to young people. It addresses issues that all youth struggle with. It also conveys to the adult reader the importance of youth to society as a whole. While reading this book, I was reminded of the power and passion for life that youth possess. As adults, we sometimes tend to underscore the contributions that youth have made throughout history. Young people have ruled nations, fought wars, struggled against injustice, and created lasting works of artistic beauty. This book, while guiding young people to make humanistic choices, throughout lifes bumps and bruises, it also inspires and empowers. It is through empowerment that young people blossom. I would recommend this book wholeheartedly to adolescents, schoolteachers, or parents.

Although I'm no longer a teenager or in my twenties, I found this book full of insights that I haven't seen in any other type of inspirational guide. For instance, here is an excerpt of Mr. Ikeda's response to a question about the importance of studying history:

"...By studying history you see large numbers of people sacrificed for what we now know was foolish superstition, as well as men and women of principle who gave their lives out of love for their contemporaries. You meet great people who pulled themselves up from the depths of suffering to make the impossible possible. You can watch this drama from a distance or view it as though you were in its midst. Watching it unfold in your mind, you naturally learn to see life from an expansive point of view. You can see yourself riding the crest of the grand river of history. We see where we have come from, where we are and where we're going.

To know history is to know oneself. The better we know ourselves and human nature, the more accurate a picture we get of history. From a Buddhist perspective, history is a record of human tendencies, of cause and effect. It is the science of human activity, the statistics of the human race..."

Reading THE WAY OF YOUTH soothed my heart, and gave me a broader vision for my own life, and for those I love. I strongly recommend it!