“OH, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat; But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth!” –Rudyard Kipling

I lived in Asia almost three years but don’t claim to be expert on the “East.” I am thinking of the differences between Eastern and Western culture today. Kipling also wrote a poem about U.S. imperialism in the Philippines called “The White Man’s Burden…” One of my high school teachers mentioned it I think as an example of racism, and I made a comment that it might have been an ironic phrase. He chuckled at me in a dismissive but friendly way.

Also in my adolescence, a priest said in a sermon that he had been talking to a young man who was fascinated with Eastern religions and philosophy. The priest said his response was that the man needed to understand his own culture first.

I think there is a sense in the West that Eastern thought is too subtle and slippery for most Western minds. An example is the Asian concept of “un-naming.” I think it has to do with meditation and removing clutter from your mind. Personally, I prefer words, even or especially when they are ambiguous. But, yes, of course you can have too much information.