This online presentation was held on Sunday, Nov 1 from 3-4:30pm MST. 
Published by BDK America or the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism, hardcopies of Jewels: An Introduction to American Buddhism for Youth, Scouts and the Young at Heart will be available from the Temple Library (when it opens) or you can download his book, free of charge by visiting: https://www.bdkamerica.org/book/jewels-introduction-buddhism-youth-scouts-and-young-heart
Words from the Author
For me, it was not easy growing up a young Buddhist in the early 1960s. Fortunately, things have changed enormously since then. Buddhism is today much more well known, and, as I will show in this book, it is now an “American religion” and no longer just a religion of Asia. Further, there are now far more “famous” Buddhists, great books on Buddhism, and information available on the Internet.
Despite this, I feel there are still very few introductory books for American (or Canadian) youths and young adults on Buddhism. That motivated me to work on an easy to understand introductory book for this audience. I feel I can accomplish this because of my own background of having been an American Buddhist youth. Plus, I have raised three Buddhist young adults.
It is my strong wish to contribute to the well-being of youth who are Buddhists or interested in Buddhism. Despite the growth of Buddhism in this country, there are still many challenges of living in a society dominated by Christian values and customs.
It’s my dream that this book can help Buddhist youth to gain greater confidence in their religion, and give any younger persons (whether they are Buddhist or not) a chance to take interest in Buddhism. It’s good for adults too, which is why the title includes “for the Young at Heart.”
Rev. Dr. Kenneth Kenshin Tanaka
Author, Ocean: An Introduction to Jodo Shinshu Buddhism
Professor Emeritus, Musashino University, Tokyo
Former BCA minister and IBS Associate Professor