A sweeping history unfolds the story of Buddhism’s spread to the West. A modern classic unparalleled in scope, How the Swans Came to the Lake opens with the story of Asian Buddhism, including the life of the historical Buddha and the spread of the Dharma from proto-India to Southeast Asia, China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, and elsewhere.
Coming to the modern era, American author Rick Fields 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:
The original cover 40 years ago
Transcendentalist fascination with Eastern religions;
immigration of Chinese and Japanese people to the United States;
the writings of D. T. Suzuki, Alan Watts, and poets in 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.
This 40th anniversary edition features both new and enhanced photographs as well as a new introduction by Fields’s nephew, Buddhist Studies scholar Benjamin Bogin, who reflects on the impact of this book since its initial publication and addresses the significant changes in Western Buddhist practice in recent decades. More (shambhala.com)
World Wild Hearts, Aug. 12, 2021; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly
Best of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico | Top 10 Destinations
(World Wild Hearts) YUCATÁN PENINSULA. The best travel destination in the Yucatan in Mexico are highlighted. From idyllic islands to Mayan ruins, authentic towns to historic destinations, the Yucatan Peninsula has it all.
🎥 VIDEO CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
0:41 Rio Lagartos
1:43 Playa Del Carmen
3:07 Cozumel
4:06 Isla Mujeres
5:15 Bacalar
6:39 Akumal
8:00 Chichen Itza
9:14 Tulum
10:40 Valladolid
12:34 Isla Holbox
13:47 Outro
WWH spent about two months visiting in the spring of 2021 and explored all the region has to offer. This video is about ten different destinations located in the states of Quintana Roo and Yucatan.
These destinations offer a good mix of culture, beaches, and adventure. The best 10 destinations are ranked in terms of being personal favorites. It will help in planning a trip. #bestofyucatan #mexico #bestplacestovisit
1. Isla Holbox ☑️ Isla Holbox Evening Kayaking Tour with Bioluminescence: https://www.getyourguide.com/isla-hol... 🎥 Watch video: • ISLA HOLBOX, MEXICO | 5 Things You MU...
7. Isla Mujeres ☑️ Catamaran Tour with Snorkel, Open Bar, and Transfer: https://www.getyourguide.com/cancun-l... 🎥 Watch video: • ISLA MUJERES, MEXICO | Best Things To...
8. Cozumel ☑️ El Cielo Boat tour with open bar: https://www.getyourguide.com/quintana...
9. Playa del Carmen 🎥 Watch video: • PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MEXICO | Things You...
10. Rio Lagartos 🎥
OTHER MEXICO VIDEOS: - Cancun Things To Do: • CANCUN, MEXICO | 10 Best Things To Do... - Cancun Day Trips: • CANCUN, MEXICO | 5 Must-Do Day Trips ... - Merida: • MERIDA, MEXICO | 8 Incredible Things ... - Oaxaca City: • OAXACA CITY, MEXICO | 10 Best Things ... - Puerto Escondido: • PUERTO ESCONDIDO, MEXICO | 6 Things Y... - Chiapas Places To Visit: • CHIAPAS, MEXICO | 7 Best Places To Vi... - San Cristobal de las Casas: • SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, MEXICO | ... ⬇️ FREE DOWNLOAD: Top 100 Bucket List Destinations: https://www.worldwildhearts.com/join 💰 SAVE MONEY ON YOUR TRIP: - Book cheap flights: https://skyscanner.pxf.io/c/3559813/1... - Book cheap accommodations: https://www.booking.com/index.html?ai... - Book cheap rental cars: https://rentalcars.tp.st/czR4KczE ✅ SUBSCRIBE: / worldwildhearts 😊 FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: / worldwildhearts / worldwildhearts ✏️ YUCATAN PENINSULA BLOG POST: - https://www.worldwildhearts.com/post/... 🎵
MUSIC CREDITS: Rade by JAK Back with me by Anthony Lazaro Leave Me Alone by Marc Lilliard Lever de la Lune by Dan Zeitune Orbit by Cameron Mackay Sol Dance by Luc Melville Un Pasito Mas by Maton Gov Ari Cars of Guadalajara by Spearfisher Cuban Nights by Captain Qubz Circa De Ti by Matan Gov Ari Babylon by Tarante Groove Machine
The underground wonders of craters
Mexico has moved up and is now part of North America -- as we approach NAMU (the North American Monetary Union when the US blends with Mexico and Canada under the Amero to compete with the EU -- which is not the way it has always been.
Elitists, being somewhat racist, knew it wasn't South America and not quite Central America, but could not possibly be white North America, so they invented the intermediary name "Mesoamerica."
Before Mexico, there was Fusang
It's a wonder San Diego and Los Angeles made it into El Norte, North America. When Central Americans head to Mexico, they say they are going to El Norte, "The North," just as we in the U.S. say we're heading north when traveling to Canada or the Arctic Circle.
A modern classic unparalleled in scope, this sweeping history of the Americas unfolds the story of Buddhism’s spread to the West.
How the Swans Came to the Lake opens with the story of Asian Buddhism, including the life of the historical Buddha and the spread of his Teachings (the Dharma) from proto-India to Southeast Asia, China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, 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.
Buddhists discovered America?
American author Rick 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, British Californian Alan Watts, and members of 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.
This 40th anniversary edition features both new and enhanced photographs as well as a new introduction by Fields’s nephew, Buddhist Studies scholar Benjamin Bogin, who reflects on the impact of this book since its initial publication and addresses the significant changes in Western Buddhist practice in recent decades.
In 1885 American historian Edward Payson Vining laid out all the evidence.
What is this tourist treasure?
Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit
It's closer to California than sunny Florida
The Yucatán (\you-kuh-tan\) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. It extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the Caribbean Sea to the east.
The Yucatán Channel, between the northeastern corner of the peninsula and Cuba, connects the two bodies of water.
The peninsula is approximately 70,000 square miles (181,000 km2) in area.
Hidden wonders from Mexico to Missouri
It has low relief and is almost entirely composed of porous limestone [5, 6]. The peninsula lies east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the narrowest point in Mexico separating the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, from the Pacific Ocean.
Some consider the isthmus to be the geographic boundary between Central America and the rest of North America, placing the peninsula in Central America [5].
Politically, however, ALL of Mexico, including the Yucatán, is considered part of North America, while Guatemala and Belize are considered part of Central America.
*The American Southwest, including all of Alta and Baja California, were part of Mexico before the USA occupied and stole these lands to expand and form an empire -- which immediately continued overseas to engulf the Philippines, Hawaii, and many smaller lands and islands in the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific -- using the pretext-doctrine of "Manifest Destiny."
This is certainly a “narrative history” of Buddhism. This is almost exclusively about Buddhism in America rather than the West in general, although the earlier chapters cover the work of the Europeans in India, Tibet, and Sri Lanka rather than China.
The early years of the transmission of Buddhism from East to West is marked by the work of well-meaning scholars, civil servants, and religious ideologues. These 19th century translators and interpreters often had a great misunderstanding about Buddhist doctrines because much of their information came from India's Brahmin class, who really didn't have much sympathy for Buddhism.
However, gradually the exclusively-Buddhist language Pali (the language of Magadha, where the Buddha lived and taught because there was no "India" yet) was learned over the Brahiminical language Sanskrit, and original canonical Buddhist texts were translated.
These very early works became known in America and Europe, among elites and the well-educated, over later, apocryphal Chinese Mahayana works based on Brahminical Indian teachings.
What is surprising in these early modern days was the role of the Theosophical Society in the late 19th century. The society, created in 1875 by Madame Blavatsky, a mysterious Russian psychic and American Colonel Henry Steel Olcott.
This was the era of Spiritualism, a time when mysterious rappings, knockings, and levitations were the rage in séance groups meeting in parlors around in America and England, under the guidance of mediums.
The Theosophical Society was set up to “collect and diffuse knowledge of the laws which govern the universe” (p.89) but, as Blavatsky later claimed, “The society was founded at the direct suggestion of Indian and Tibetan adepts” (p.90). These so-called adepts were referred to as The Masters, mysterious spiritual entities who were guiding humankind to a better and brighter future.
Only Blavatsky spoke regularly to The Masters, and Col. Olcott had but one from a Master, who left his turban behind on Olcott's desk. One could call these people the first New Agers.
Their search for spiritual sustenance and knowledge drove the two of them to India in 1875 and then to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) where they took Buddhist vows in front of a huge crowd. The American Olcott set about reviving Buddhism among the Sri Lankans, writing The Buddhist Catechism, designing a colorful Buddhist flag, as well as raising money for Buddhist schools and petitioning the British government to ease the restrictions on Buddhists in Sri Lanka.
Fields' book gives the impression that Col. Olcott singlehandedly revived Buddhism in Sri Lanka. In 1888 he was invited to lecture on Buddhism in Japan and spoke to an estimated 187,000 people over three months (p.108).
Col. Olcott went on to Burma, and in 1890 called a meeting of Asian Buddhists in Adyar in an attempt to unite all the various Buddhist schools. History has shown that he largely failed in this noble attempt.
Olcott was undoubtedly sincere in his Buddhist beliefs and did much to proselytize Buddhism in the East and West, but there were many others in the late 19th century who took it upon themselves to promote Buddhism.
One of the most significant turning points was the World Parliament of Religions, held on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago in 1873 as part of the Columbian Exposition. Although the majority of delegates were Christian, it was here that for many Americans and Europeans the exotic East met with the staid West for the first time.
Hindu Swami Vivekananda was one of the most memorable Indians at the conference, which led to an interest in yoga among Westerners. Chinese and Japanese delegates “arrayed in costly silk vestments of all the colors of the rainbow” (p. 121) impressed everyone. Buddhist Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1933) gave the concluding speech at the opening ceremony, which for many was the first time they had heard the preaching of Buddhism.
Dharmapala was instrumental in promoting Buddhism and reviving Bodh Gaya, India ("Enlightenment Grove," where Siddhartha awakened and became the Buddha, the "Awakened One"), as a center of Buddhist learning. A large bust of him was installed at the Maha Bodhi Rest House in 1991 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Maha Bodhi Society founded by Dharmapala (Singh, 2003:90).
On the third day of the World Parliament of Religions, Zen Master Soyen Shaku (Rinzai), one of D. T. Suzuki's teachers, was introduced to the audience as the first Zen master to come to America.
Zen in the USA after WW II
Twelve years after the conference, Soyen Shaku returned to America as a Buddhist missionary, intent on bringing Zen to America. A year later, in 1906, Sokatsu Shaku, one of Soyen Shaku's disciples arrived. Included in this group was the young artist and Zen student Sokei-an, who went on to become the first Zen master to settle permanently in America, going on to found the Buddhist Society of America in New York (which later became the First Zen Institute of America) and marrying Alan Watts' mother-in-law, Ruth Fuller Everett, in 1944.
Ruth Fuller Sasaki went to Japan after Sokei-an's death in 1945 and established a branch of the institute on the grounds of Daitoku-ji, where much translation work was done and many Westerners passed through, including Gary Snyder in 1956.
And so the flow of Westerners to Japan turned from a trickle to flood, and these Westerners -- along with the Japanese teachers -- brought the swans to the lake.
Rick Fields' book remains the first attempt to document the Buddhist movement in America. By my very rough count, there are approximately 800 people and places named in the book, from Shakyamuni (Prince Siddhartha, the historical Buddha), who started it all, through to the Tibetans, the Koreans, the Vietnamese, the Japanese, the Sri Lankans/Sinhalese, the Chinese, and a plethora of Westerners.
It's a fascinating story full of eccentric characters, good intentions, and great effort. Although Fields' book is well written, with a light touch that makes it easy, entertaining reading, it is only a beginning.
We now have an opportunity to leave an accurate legacy for the future about Buddhism's migration to new lands, and it would be a shame if this too was left for decades or centuries after the event. A new Rick Fields is needed (even though this is the new third edition with a little more about Thich Nhat Hanh and the post-Vietnam War Vietnamese-American contribution to Buddhism in the USA).
Modern technology and a highly literate public means that much is already recorded, and baring any cataclysmic event it should be available to future generations of scholars to sift through. One danger, however, is an overabundance of Dharma materials.
Fields has covered a vast amount of material in a single volume, beginning with Shakyamuni 2,500 years ago. Left for a relatively brief mention in the final chapter is a discussion of scandals that have hit American centers in the latter part of the century. These, too, are part of the history of Buddhism in the West and should be included, if only to prevent the history from slipping into myth and hagiography.
How the Swans Came to the Lake is not the last word on the early years of Buddhism in the West, but it is the first comprehensive history of it. As such it deserves a place on the bookshelves of Buddhists throughout the English-speaking world.
(ABC News) Dispelling some myths about our obsession with Cinco de Mayo. George Snuffaluffagous brings the amazing true story behind America’s favorite Mexican holiday.
Freedom is the best thing.
I like the Path of Freedom the Buddha teaches. Edward P. Vining (Inglorious Columbus) says Buddhism was brought by Afghan and Chinese Buddhist missionaries to the West Coast of California and Mexico in ancient times. Rick Fields (How the Swans Came to the Lake), too!
There's so much the U.S. doesn't teach us about Mexico, its pre-Hispanic history and treasures, home of the world's richest man (Carlos Slim), world's deepest canyons (Copper Canyon), and the world's biggest pyramid (Cholula)!
(MostAmazingTop10) At least she's trying to understand, and it is like St. Paddy's Day more than the 4th of July. See you at Festival de Fiesta Broadway in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 30.
El Buda y el Budismo
Los Angeles and Southern California are the places to learn about Mexican and Chicana history because this is Latin America, except in 1898the border crossed us.
Yes, I'm a Mexican Buddhist with a battered brain, searching for a future, and the world is my aim. Darby Crash (Germs) said it best on the GTA soundtrack.
I'm a [Mexican Buddhist] with a battered brain. I'm searching for a future; the world is my aim. Give me, give me your hand, give me give me your mind. Gimme gimme this, gimme gimme that.
I want toy tin soldiers that can push and shove. I want steamrollers that'll wreck this dud. I'll get silver guns to rip this rug, give this established joke a shove. Latin heroine Lynda Cordova Carter rocks as Wonder Woman!
Mexican meditation figurine: shaft tomb figurine from Jalisco, Mexico, in the Ameca-style, dated by the Art Institute from AD 100-800, height: 22 in or 56 cm (Madman2001).
[American historian Rick Field's amazing scholarship explains how Buddhism first landed in North America.
Buddhist missionaries were blown off course and across the sea to a new land (California and other parts of Mexico), where they taught advancements in philosophy, pottery, art, building, and spirituality via the Dharma.
Place names in Mesoamerica (the stretch of land between North- and South America) bear this out, such as Guatemala from Gautama (the Buddha's surname). It would be easy to dismiss, but this is a book -- a historical account -- that reports research.
The earliest Dharma seekers were looking for mystics, miracles, magic and trustworthy teachers who had experienced the heights of bliss, compassion, and wisdom from diligently practicing Buddhism's Noble Eightfold Path.
The original language of Buddhism's "Threefold Collection" (Tri-pitaka) of sacred texts was either Pali or Sanskrit.
Pali was the common language spoken in the region of north and northwestern "India" (Bharat) -- or at least Magadhi from the Kingdom of Magadha -- at the time of the Buddha, whereas Sanskrit was the liturgical language of arrogant upper-caste, temple-bound Brahmin priests loyal to the ancient Vedic texts, which the Buddha rejected in favor of shamanic direct experience (as part of the shramana or "wandering ascetic" movement, which is the source of our English word "shaman"). More
(Wiki) The Western Mexico shaft tomb tradition or "shaft tomb culture" refers to a set of interlocked cultural traits found in the western Mexican states.
These are Jalisco, Nayarit and, to a lesser extent, Colima to its south, roughly dating to the period between 300 BCE and 400 CE, although there is not wide agreement on this end-date.
Mexico is full of amazing treasures!
Nearly all of the artifacts associated with this shaft tomb tradition have been discovered by looters and are without provenance, making dating problematic.
The International Council of Museum (ICOM) estimates that 90% of the clay figurines come from illegal excavations.
The first major undisturbed shaft tomb associated with the tradition was not discovered until 1993, at Huitzilapa, Jalisco (Eduardo Williams, Classic Period page* below, as well as Danien, p. 23).
.
Underwater cave archeology of Mexico
There is evidence (Meighan & Nicholson, p. 42) that many tombs were looted in ancient times.
Originally regarded as being of Purépecha origin (Judy Sund, p. 13), contemporary with the Aztecs, it became apparent in the middle of the 20th century, as a result of further research, that the artifacts and tombs were instead over 1,000 years older.
Until recently, the looted artifacts were all that was known of the people and culture or cultures that created the shaft tombs. So little was known, in fact, that a major 1998 exhibition highlighting these artifacts was subtitled: "Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past."
See Townsend, Richard (1998) Ancient West Mexico: Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past (Thames & Hudson). Also, in the fourth edition of his Mexico: from the Olmecs to the Aztecs, Michael Coe talks about "our abysmal ignorance of the prehistory of the area," p. 56.
It is now thought that, although shaft tombs are widely diffused across the area, the region was not a unified cultural area.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures says, for example, that "At no time in the pre-Hispanic era did any political or cultural entity impose itself on the whole region, even though certain cultural patterns (such as the building of shaft-and-chamber tombs) have in fact been widely diffused" (Michelet, p. 328). Beekman (2000, p. 393) makes the same argument.
Archaeologists, however, still struggle with identifying and naming the ancient western Mexico cultures of this period.More
The world's largest pyramid, hidden by Catholics, is in Cholula, Mexico (Getty Images)
Pre-Hispanic West México: Mesoamerica *Eduardo Williams (FAMSI.org), The Classic Period (circa A.D. 300-900)
The location of Cholula (red) south of USA
Until recently, there was very little knowledge about this period in the Occident, compared with central and southern Mesoamerica.
Recent research, however, is slowly shedding more light on this area's cultural developments during the Classic Period.
Among recent projects is the excavation of the sites known as Las Lomas ["The Hills"] in the marshland and lake area around Zacapu, Michoacán (Figures 15, 16, and 17).
US news: border-crossing cave system
These sites were occupied approximately during the first eight centuries of this era (Protoclassic-Classic periods) and were permanently abandoned afterwards.
The abundance of funerary evidence in the area has led some scholars to believe that the populations that lived here reserved the Las Lomas sites for funerary purposes and other ritual activities, although it is possible that the people who went there to honor the dead would have also taken advantage of the plentiful lake and marsh resources (Arnauld et al. 1993:208; Carot 1994). More
Chocolate (Theobroma cacao), the "Food of the devas/gods" grows on trees in Mexico.
Aztalan State Parkis a Wisconsin state park in the Town of Aztalan, Jefferson County, Wisconsin at latitude N 43° 4' and longitude W 88° 52'...
L.A. stands for "Latin America," and there's no more Mexican city than the City of Angels with its large Hispanic population. Join a local Latino Councilmember at City Hall for the biggest celebration yet!
The Annual "The Shout" (El Grito!) - Mexican Independence Day Celebration and the September Independence Days of Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Where and when? Friday, September 16th, 2016 starting at 5:30 pm at the City Hall Steps by Grand Park.
#ElGritoLA2016El Grito de Dolores ("the Shout or Cry of Pain") marks the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence and is celebrated each year on September 15th.
September is also Independence Day for: Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. For more than 20 years, the celebration of El Grito has been sponsored by the City of Los Angeles. This celebration entertains residents and television viewers with a reenactment of the historic cry and bell ringing. The event features live music on the steps of L.A. City Hall.
This reading is the poetic component to Avenue 50 Studio's xdisciplinary response to Mexican Independence Day and the turbulent and inflammatory discourse surrounding the 2016 presidential elections as candidates expressed their views on Mexican immigration, and in particular, Mexican people.
Featuring poets: Gloria Enedina Alvarez w/musical accompaniment, Joseph Rios, Matt Sedillo, Olga García Echeverría, Rocío Carlos, Ron Baca, Sarah Rafael García, Sophia Rivera, Victor Carrillo, Xitlalic Guijosa-Osuna, Yvonne Estrada, + more. There is a limited open mic (please bring only poems related to the theme), and arrive early to get a spot on the open signup list.
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