/lit/ - Literature

>>2830114
Pretty much this. I think it annoys "the vocal segment of /lit/" when Westerners (most notably Americans) take interest in Eastern philosophy as means of escaping their "meaningless" and "superficial" consumerist lives (failing, I might add, to see the vast array of meaningful experiences and interactions that can be had in a consumerist culture, but I digress). Basically, they're using it as means of escaping and transcending Western culture and philosophy, which only adds to the influence of Western culture over the subject in question. Eastern philosophy becomes Westernized, and then you get New Age philosophy. I'm not decrying New Age beliefs. I'm saying people who follow them should be aware of the cultural context from which the ideas originally arouse in Asia, how fundamental they were in shaping them originally, how they are constantly being called into question at their points of origin, and how our own culture may distort these imported beliefs into something vastly different so that it may retain meaning to the Western subject.

I mean, the thought of a person of Asian heritage who considered themselves "New Age" would be utterly absurd to a western patron, but not many people question this. I do find it interesting how New Age philosophy pushes it's own metanarrative of human history, but I won't go into that. Just skim through this video, it's very interesting to analyze: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw