...Cultural comparison stirs debate because it leads too easily to simplification and stereotyping. Yet it seems worthwhile to note and reflect upon affinities among many Southeast Asian societies. Even beyond the region, the existential contradiction between our desires for autonomy and attachment...

...This concluding chapter discusses the significance of comparative methodology. The discourse of the comparative study has two phases. It begins with the phase of contrasting and arrives at a deep respect for the irreducible differences between traditions. Then it follows the phase of comparison...