Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens [Paperback]

Diana Winston (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 5, 2003

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One of the recent trends in Buddhist publishing has been a subtle generation shift: we are now seeing second-generation Buddhists' memoirs as well as introductory books for teenagers and young adults. Into this latter category falls Diana Winston's Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens, a well-written and basic primer for Gen-Ys who are asking Big Questions. Introducing concepts such as meditation, enlightenment, metta (lovingkindness), karma, the four noble truths and the eight worldly conditions, Winston writes accessibly but doesn't try overly hard to sound cool or relevant. Teens will appreciate the way she gives the dharma to them straight, while many adults will also benefit from this lucid manual.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade; 1 edition (August 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399528970
• ISBN-13: 978-0399528972
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Teens > Religion & Spirituality

More 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.

Diana has been practicing insight meditation since 1989 when she first came across it in Thailand. She lived for a year as a Buddhist nun in Burma (Myanmar) where she shaved her head and ate only two meals before noon.

In 1993 Diana started teaching teens meditation and is one of the founders of the teen meditation retreat started at Insight Meditation Society and currently nationwide through MAYA-- Mindful Awareness for Young Adults.

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 co author with Susan Smalley of the upcoming Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness. Her CD is Mindful Meditations, available on itunes.

Currently she is a new mom.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars wake up sleepyhead! September 28, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This is a wonderful introduction to Buddhism. I have been sitting for several years and I am closer to middle-aged than teen-aged, but this book has a concise yet scholarly nature that presents Buddhist practice beautifully.

I want to buy this book for everyone I know, from my 13 year old god-daughter to my 93 year old grandfather. Diana Winston illuminates the beauty and difficulty of living honestly in the world. If I were to change one thing, I would make the subtitle read; "a Buddhist guide for teens and those who were once teens"

Thanks Diana!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, great book! January 15, 2005

By Shalimar

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have been learning about Buddhism for a couple of years now and bought this book for my teenage daughter, in hopes that it would inspire her to join me. She hasn't read it yet, but I decided to pick it up off her shelf one day and read it myself. This book changed my life. It is written in very simple, easy to understand terms. I felt like Diana Winston was a good friend, walking the path with me and explaining things along the way. I loved it. And I am still hoping my daughter will join me!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This book worked miracles for our 15 years old teenager May 28, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Our son was in very hard times, struggling to come to terms with the low values (if values) of modern society, modern music and his own background and values. With 14 he went into extrem aggression and anger. He sought refuge in hard rap, which on one side helped to work anger off, but fueled it from another side.

Since he started to read (and practice) this book, he changed tremendously.

I highly recommend this book to any teenager (or parents who wish to find help) with the wish for help.

10 stars!