DIFFERENT VALUES EMPHASIZED:

 

Confucian/Tao/Buddhist vs Christian

Harmony vs Doing the right thing

The group is most important vs Rights of the individual

Don't stir things up unnecessarily vs Get to the bottom of the matter

Consensus is best vs Competition breeds winners

Cultivate relationships vs Develop a good personal record

Long run results count the most vs Celebrate recent achievements

Improve yourself vs Improve society

Inner peace (low stress) vs Joy from the smiles of others

Don't interfere with others outside your family vs Helping others you don't know

Rich should give to charity vs Extra taxes on the rich to pay for services to the poor

Appreciate nature as it is vs Use technology to let nature work for people 

Holistic medicine vs Counteract the disease

Bring beauty into your own home vs Good community planning

Authorities deserve respect vs Leaders should serve the people

 

 

East-West differences even show up in brain scans!   from http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2008/03/03/cultural_insights/

Western culture, they have found, conditions people to think of themselves as highly independent entities. And when looking at scenes, Westerners tend to focus on central objects more than on their surroundings.

In contrast, East Asian cultures stress interdependence. When Easterners take in a scene, they tend to focus more on the context as well as the object: the whole block, say, rather than the BMW parked in the foreground.

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Read Sloan's thoughts on the Buddhism in Japan, at http://rio.s5.com/ReligionForces.htm

Read a spirited conversation showing that Buddhists in China have different ethics than in Japan, at http://rio.s5.com/corruptMaid.htm