BOOK REVIEWS

The most important learning is a sense of belonging to a larger whole. It opens a wider universal vista in which personal ego can connect and expand. The East values retreat when necessary to create space for an extended perspective. Part of Eastern thinking is to accept and celebrate the mystery that we will never understand. It’s intuitively in tune with nature and cosmic consciousness, yet feels its own kind of longing for a well-defined mechanistic model of reality, and for excitement of free and creative expression. 

The West focuses on individualism, where personal ego looms in the center. The West tries to forge ahead, depending on reason and logic. Concretized, factual, and proven things become their security. They crave absolute answers, leaving little room for creative and spiritual inquiry, and perhaps the unknown. As technology grows, westerners rely on information and accumulated knowledge to secure an array of material conveniences, which deters the human thirst for wisdom in the deeper meaning of life.