"The East, however, was not burdened with the concept of a transcendent father - saviour in which the monotheistic religions expressed their longings. Taoism and Buddhism had a rationality and realism superior to that of Western religions. They could see man realistically and objectively, having nobody but the 'awakened' ones to guide him, and being able to be guided because each man has within himself the capacity to awake and be enlightened.
Buddhism helps man to find an answer to the question of his existence, an answer which is essentially the same as that given in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and yet which does not contradict the rationality, realism, and independence which are modern man's precious achievements."
Erich Fromm, German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, humanistic philosopher, democratic socialist and a Frankfurt School's critical theorist
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