[Buddha-l] Western Buddhism

[Richard Breedon]

On Nov 15, 2007, at 2:33 AM, Dan Lusthaus wrote:
...
>
> Let me rephrase the question: Anyone have any reports of having  
> successfully
> raised "Buddhist" children?

My twin boys, now 12, would without a doubt identify themselves as  
Buddhist. They recite prayers in Pali before they go to bed and know  
how to prostrate before any image they may encounter in a temple, be  
it a Wat Mahatat in a Thai city or Wat Sacramento in California, where  
we live.

This is because they are not being raised under my sort of American  
Zen-whatever non-theistic but-is-it-really-Buddhism influence, but  
because of my Thai wife's ingrained Theravadan practice and the  
support of her family.

I think daily ritual and family involvement are very important for the  
kind of generational continuity of a religion that is under  
consideration in this discussion.

Richard Breedon
Dept. of Physics, UC Davis

Note: Based on previous experience, I anticipate that this message  
will get rejected from Buddha-L (in spite of my being a subscriber for  
nearly 20 years), so I have cc'd both Dan and Richard in the hope that  
perhaps one of you might be kind enough to at least quote my comment  
in a response that does get posted.