There's a sharing of diversity, a communication and exchange between East and West, a learning from one another. I think the West has lost many things from its industrialization and development which contributed to the breakdown of the family. A lot of the values that have changed drastically are still intact in some of these smaller countries, reflected in their ways of living, ways of seeing . . . Asia is a very different part of the world. The East and the West have different ways of looking at things, such that some of the things people here find sensible may appear totally crazy over there.
Common sense is very different over there than here.
In Asian philosophy, harmony and balance are very important. Because spirituality is an intrinsic part of the cultures there, people approach life very differently from the more materialistic society here. I don't make a lot of money doing the classes and trips. I used to make much more money. I have an M. B. A. degree from Berkeley and I could be working in some big corporation making a good salary and focusing on how to maximize profits and efficiency.