How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America

Just a few generations since their introduction, Buddhist practice and philosophy have become commonplace in the Western world. Westerners practice and teach all main Buddhist traditions, and Buddhism has been the foremost contributor to the widespread appeal of mindfulness and meditation.

In this groundbreaking work, Rick Fields synthesizes centuries of history to offer a complete look at the origins of Buddhist practice and its spread to the West. How the Swans Came to the Lake opens with a survey of Asian Buddhist history, including the life of the Buddha and the spread of his teachings from India to Southeast Asia, China, Tibet, Japan, and elsewhere. Coming to the modern era, the book tracks how Western colonialism in Asia served as the catalyst for the first large-scale interactions between Buddhists and Westerners. Fields discusses the development of Buddhism in the West through key moments such as Transcendentalist fascination with Eastern religions, immigration of Chinese and Japanese people to the United States, the writings of D. T. Suzuki, Alan Watts, and writers from the Beat movement, the publication of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki, the arrival of Tibetan lamas in America and Europe, and the influence of Western feminist and social justice movements on Buddhist practice. In this fortieth anniversary edition, a new introduction and bibliographic essay, as well as updates to the photo sections, have been added to reflect on the impact of this book since its initial publication and to address the changes in Western Buddhist practice in the last thirty years. As the most definitive work available on Western Buddhism, this book is an indispensable resource for readers of history and Buddhist practitioners alike.