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How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America Paperback – July 7, 1992

by Rick Fields (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 46 ratings
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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.
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  1. Print length
    434 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Shambhala
  4. Publication date
    July 7, 1992
  5. Dimensions
    6.07 x 0.99 x 8.99 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0877736316
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0877736318
  8. See all details
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4.8 out of 5 stars
46 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing and Beautifully told History of Buddhism in the West
    Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This is an amazing book! I can barely put it down. It will definitely hold your interest. It's a beautifully told history of Buddhism in the West as well as tracing Buddhism from it's beginnings.Well worth the read.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Cadud
    5.0 out of 5 stars Quality Amazon Provider
    Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2021
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    Fast shipping fair pricing
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  • Michael Dale Harrison
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on the history of American Buddhism
    Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This is an outstanding read. Very well written, researched and interesting throughout. I have waited for years for this to come out for Kindle and I am happy to own it electronically now as well as my treasured analog copy.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book
    Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2019
    Hard to believe How Swans Came to the Lake has only 4 stars. I'm not a verified purchase because I purchased used but this is a modern classic. A great read.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Stephanie Silva
    5.0 out of 5 stars Priceless
    Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2004
    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.
    45 people found this helpful
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  • Roger Petrich
    4.0 out of 5 stars nearly all new to me
    Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    perhaps more detail than I was looking for - but one can always skim ahead to another chapter! Covers Buddhism from Buddha himself to the many ways that Buddhists arrived in the USA [or North American Continent] - and coming down quite close to the present [date of publication]. From the 1960s onward the "Asian Spirit" has become part of our American life, permeating contemporary culture -- with expressions as "It's so Zen!!" I plan on keeping this as a reference book; I'm sure that a re-read will provide new insights.
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  • M. Tran
    5.0 out of 5 stars Faculty Recommend
    Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2006
    I was in my university bookstore when I saw a sign "Faculty Recommend" in front of this book. I decided to check it out. Indeed, it is an excellent book and I quickly bought myself a copy.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Kieran Fox
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but Uncritical
    Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2010
    I am only about halfway through this book but can already say that it is an excellent read and very informative. It is full of interesting little pieces of Buddhist history you're unlikely to find elsewhere (such as a brief sketching of the history of Buddhism coming to Hawaii - I had never even thought to look into such a topic, personally). Further, and much to Fields's credit, he tends to outline the characters involved (Jones, Thoreau, Blavatsky, Dharmapala, etc.) in a very intimate way such that even in a brief chapter you feel you've gotten to know them, as well as absorbed the key historical part they've played in bringing Buddhism to the West.

    One star is taken off because I agree with another reviewer: the book is very uncritical of the various teachers and movements. Not that it is lauding them all, but in the chapter on Blavatsky for instance, he seems mighty credulous regarding what was generally considered (even in its own time) as a lot of charlatanism. Fields of course claims to be writing a "narrative," not a "critical," history, but still, a little more judgment on his part would have improved the book. Maybe he is simply attempting in a Buddhist way to refrain from judgments; or maybe his involvement with the Shambhala and various Zen schools in America (many of them mired in controversies from drug and alcohol abuse to rape) forced him to realize that criticizing all schools equally would not necessarily reflect favorably on his own teachers...

    Either way this is a well-written and interesting history of the latest 'transmission' of Buddhadharma to a new land - this time crossing not just mountains, but oceans. A great read and highly recommended to any interested in the (recent and fairly ancient, too) history of Buddhism.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Karin Scherer
    5.0 out of 5 stars history
    Reviewed in Germany on January 13, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    genial
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  • A. Bambarabotuve
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great History. Interesting to read.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This book explains how the Buddhisam arrived to State. It is interesting to read history of Sri Lanka during the colonial time how the Buddhists struggle to protect buddhisam.
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