Breakfast with Buddha unfolds against a cultural dichotomy: Western materialism versus Eastern spirituality. This dichotomy isn’t merely a thematic device but also reflects broader global cultural and philosophical discourse. As a cultural paradigm, Western materialism has its roots in the post-Enlightenment era, when the focus shifted toward human reason, scientific inquiry, and the pursuit of material progress. This cultural context emphasizes tangible achievements, technological advancements, and material prosperity as primary indicators of success and well-being. It’s a worldview that prioritizes the external, measurable, and tangible, often sidelining life’s spiritual or existential dimensions.

Religious and spiritual worldviews shaped Western culture before the Enlightenment era’s emphasis on human reason, scientific inquiry, and material progress. During the pre-Enlightenment era, or Middle Ages, the focus was adherence to religious doctrine and a metaphysical understanding of the universe, and the Church significantly influenced intellectual and daily life. Success and well-being were viewed through spiritual fulfillment and alignment with religious teachings, and life on Earth was generally seen as a precursor to the afterlife. The Enlightenment marked a notable shift from this theocentric perspective to a paradigm that valued rationalism and empirical knowledge.