How the swans came to the lake: A narrative history of Buddhism in America [Paperback]

Rick Fields (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1992

This new updated edition of How the Swans Came to the Lake includes much new information about recent events in Buddhist groups in America and discusses such issues as spiritual authority, the role of women, and social action.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"If there is a lake, the swans would go there."

So said the 16th Karmapa when asked why he visited America in 1976. Of course, the Karmapa wasn't the first swan to go to the lake. In a book of immense scope, Rick Fields surveys the history of Buddhism in America from the quasi-legendary Fu-sang in the sixth century to Asian immigrant communities to the latest trends in American Buddhism. Writing as a storyteller as much as a historian, Fields takes us back to the earliest European contacts with Buddhism, most notably, Sir William Jones, who was just about to go to America on the recommendation of Ben Franklin, when at the last minute, fortunately, he chose India. His work would influence the American Transcendentalists and eventually the great Theosophist and first American convert to Buddhism, Henry Steel Olcott. A sympathetic writer, Fields is also meticulously inclusive. Besides the obvious transmitters, like D.T. Suzuki and Philip Kapleau, Fields traces the forgotten influences of Paul Carus, Ernest Fenollosa, and Dharmapala. One memorable story is of the ex-Navy submarine mechanic Heng Ju, who walked, three steps then a kowtow, over and over, all the way from San Francisco to Seattle for a berry pie. Fields has countless other stories that make How the Swans Came to the Lake a priceless contribution not only to Buddhism in America but to Buddhism itself. --Brian Bruya --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Rick Fields is the author of several books, including Chop Wood, Carry Water and The Code of the Warrior. He was formerly the editor of The Vajradhatu Sun, an international journal of Buddhism, and is currently the editor-at-large of Tricycle: A Buddhist Review. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 434 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala Publications; 3rd edition (1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877735832
• ISBN-13: 978-0877735830
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,964,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Priceless, December 25, 2004

By 

Stephanie Silva (Urban Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How the Swans Came to the Lake (Paperback)

Wow -- only five reviews for a uniquely priceless 400 page history of Buddhism in America? Not to mention what's likely the best 12 page summary in print of Siddhartha Buddha's life and legacy? Erudite American Buddhist author and old hippie character Rick Fields (1942-1999) left an enthusiastic storyteller's history that brings to life every remotely key player -- starting even far before the unforgettable English rogue scholar Sir William Jones (1736-1794) singlehandedly sent the first translations from the East to England and our American Transcendentalists. Chinese Buddhist monks in Mexico in A.D. 458, the real kindly Quetzalcoatl? If you think the history of Buddhism in America started at the World Parliament of Religions in 1893 and can be told largely through D. T. Suzuki, Jack Kerouac, Alan Watts, Shunryu Suzuki, Tarthang Tulku and Chogyam Trungpa -- think again. Here is every gossipy thing you ever wanted to know and more about how and why Buddhism came to America, up to and beyond the Roshi Baker scandals (that mercifully ended the "silent denial of lies and abuse" and pointed the way to practice increasingly integrated with psychotherapy and more). The author's note and acknowledgments are priceless in themselves. (I confess to a long time habit of reading acknowledgments and indexes first.) Very highly recommended.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How thw swans came to the lake, April 29, 2000

By 

John P. Nemick (Green Bay, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How the Swans Came to the Lake (Paperback)

I've been interested in the history of Buddhism and zen in the west for a number of years and was fortunate to pick out "How the Swans Came to the Lake" from the library at Mt. Baldy Zen Center in March.

I found the work to be a well told story. The detail of the common threads and relationships is fascinating. I really think this book is an important piece for anyone interested in how this wonderful flowering of the Dharma in the West was planted and fed.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating American history, August 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: How the Swans Came to the Lake (Paperback)

A great read not only for those interested in Buddhim but in American social history as well. In a scholarly, yet engaging writing style, the author takes the reader from Pre-Columbian America to the Present with sharply-drawn and vivid characters and their searches. A subject that could easily be dry comes to life and kept this readers' pages turning.