From a disregarded, forlorn island in the early 1900s to the world-famous resort and go-to place of today, Jews have played a prominent role in Miami Beach's achievements and fame. Initially consigned to a tiny enclave on the southern tip of Miami Beach, the community's Jewish population quickly expanded north, from South Beach to Golden Beach, and assumed a leadership position in nearly every phase of the city's life by the late 1900s. At every step of Miami Beach's rich history--from com...

**In this Native American story, Kara and Amanda are best-friend cousins. Then Kara leaves the city to move back to the Rez. Will their friendship stay the same?Native creators Laurel Goodluck and Jonathan Nelson share a sweet picture book with the universal experience of family and friends moving away.**Kara and Amanda hate not being together. Then it's time for the family reunion on the Rez. Each girl worries that the other hasn't missed her. But once they reconnect, they...

A boy wins over an abused, stray dog with persistence and love in this heartwarming story.Thoughtful care goes into a child's efforts to help an abused dog learn to trust humans again. Stooping near the bush where the dog is hiding, offering scraps of food, and leaving an umbrella in a rainstorm all convince the dog that the child's offering of friendship is real. When Mom insists on putting up "lost dog" signs, the boy is worried. But in the end, the dog and child...

In Navajo families, the first person to make a new baby laugh hosts the child's First Laugh Ceremony. Who will earn the honor in this story?The First Laugh Ceremony is a celebration held to welcome a new member of the community. As everyone--from Baby's nima (mom) to nadi (big sister) to cheii (grandfather)--tries to elicit the joyous sound from Baby, readers are introduced to details about Navajo life and the Navajo names for family memb...

In our generation, The Darkness took root in Jackie Estacado, an orphan, as all the bearers before him, raised by pimps and thievesThe Franchetti Crime Family. Like those who walked in the shadow of The Darkness before him, Jackie's powers manifested on his 21st birthday. In that moment he was both blessed and cursed. The elemental force of chaos granted Jackie a limitless power, access to an otherworldly dimension and control over the demons that dwell there. He could do anything now and ...

In this satirical, allegorical essay, Māra - the Buddhist personification of evil and death - writes a letter to his armies with instructions on how to keep his subjects trapped in his realm of birth and death.Māra is portrayed as a modern figure who views his dominions through a computer monitor. His armies personify the mental defilements that prevent one from attaining true liberation.This essay will help make traditional Buddhist Cosmology and doctrine accessible for mo...

This is an audiobook of Bodhi Leaves No. 56, "Three Buddhist Tales" found in the Pariyatti Edition of Collected Bodhi Leaves Vol. II as well as at BPS as a free eBook download."Three Buddhist Tales" consists of The Old Weaver by Dr. H. Hecker, Of Dogs and Men by James Allen, and The Mother and His Son by Kosho Yamamoto.

This is an audiobook of Bodhi Leaves No. 129, ' The Living Message of the Dhammapada' found in the Pariyatti Edition of Collected Bodhi Leaves Vol. V as well as at BPS as a free eBook download.Excerpt from The Living Message of the Dhammapada by Bhikkhu BodhiThe Dhammapada is a work familiar to every devout Buddhist and to every serious student of Buddhism. This small collection of 423 verses on the Buddha’s doctrine is so rich in insights that it ...

The Buddha and Jesus Christ are two great spiritual leaders who founded two important world religions. Though they are similar in certain respects, they differ greatly one from the other as founders of religion, in the same way that their doctrines differ from one another. This paper aims at making a brief comparative study of these two great personages in their role as religious teachers.

This is an audiobook of the classic title Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner, narrated by Jonathan Nelson.--------------------------------"I set out to study and practice Vipassana meditation in India fifty years ago. Then, as now, I characterized myself as both a spiritual seeker and a writer. During the six months that I sojourned in meditation centers and monasteries, observing the strict rules of retreat, I nevertheless spent several hours a day fever...

Innumerable books have been written about Buddhism, but most of these are far too exhaustive, too specialized, or too scholarly to be of much practical help to the busy lay Buddhist in search of concise guidance. A short, clear, and simple handbook on how to live a proper Buddhist lay life was therefore a much felt need. The present essay attempts to fill that gap by providing exactly what its title offers: ASimple Guide to Life.For easy reference the essa...

This is an audiobook of Wheel Publications No. 102/103 Buddhist Reflections on Death by V. F. Gunaratne, narrated by Jonathan Nelson."To most of us, at some moment or another, the spectacle of death must have given rise to the deepest of thoughts and profoundest of questions. What is life worth, if able bodies that once performed great deeds now lie flat and cold, senseless and lifeless? What is life worth, if eyes that once sparkled with joy, eyes that once beamed with lo...