Beliefnet’s provocative One City blog says Buddhism can expand in the U.S. by branding. Jerry Kolber* suggests ditching the rituals, losing the Buddha, emphasizing the material benefits of meditation, and accessorizing … something.

“With the right branding and advertising Buddhism can be the iPod of philosophies, cool first then avilable at WalMart three years later,” Kolber writes.

In other news, the military is teaching soldiers something that sounds like mindfulness meditation (they call it Warrior Mind Training):

“On patrol in Iraq two years ago, John Way would notice his mind straying. `Maybe I should be watching some guy over there and instead I’m thinking, “I’m hungry. Where’s my next Twinkie?”‘

“With privacy at a premium, he’d often retreat to a Port-A-Potty to practice the focusing skills he’d learned from Ernst at Fort Bragg. `To have a way to shut all this off is invaluable,’ says Way.

*I misspelled his name the first go-round. My apologies.