The
judgement of Eastern religions as pagan, polytheist, idolatrous, and
primitive, now appears on par with the judgement of Asian and
African peoples as racially inferior - not an enlightened judgement
but an embarrassing prejudice. The attempt to discredit venerable
and profound oriental cultures as inferior, which is still going on
by missionary movements today, has been never motivated by the
seeking of any real understanding but by political, economic and
religious ambitions toward domination.
The negative judgement of these
cultures is not the product of an enlightened rationality but of a
cultural prejudice and limited religious belief systems that does
not want to recognize the validity of other points of view.The West
can no longer look down upon Asian culture. The Japanese have shown
how well the Asians can compete with us on all levels of modern
culture. The Chinese and the Indians may not be far behind. We have
come to recognize the value of Asian systems of Yoga, meditation,
natural healing, martial arts, music and painting, and so on.
We have also seen the skill of
Easterners as scientists, artists, doctors, and businessmen. We have
seen that Asians, like the Japanese, can be competitive in the
modern world without giving up their traditional cultures or
customs.
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