Rewalking Thoreau and Asia: 'Light from the East' for 'A Very Yankee Sort of Oriental'

Thoreau's engagement with and perspectives on the Orient are considered

here. Within Thoreau's Hindu appropriations, the 'practical' importance for

Thoreau of yogic practices is reemphasized. Thoreau's often-cited Buddhist

links are questioned. Instead, it is Thoreau's explicit use of Confucian and

Persian Sufi materials that deserve reemphasis, as do, in retrospect, some

striking thematic convergences with Taoism. Thoreau's 'Light from the East'

focuses on ethical and mystical techniques, infused with lessons from Nature

for 'a very Yankee sort of Oriental.'