“Eastern” is less a single school than an umbrella for the great wisdom traditions of Asia — among them Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and the Hindu thought of the Vedas and Upanishads. Their roots stretch back more than three thousand years, with the classical figures emerging around the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. Though enormously varied, they tend to share an emphasis on balance, mindfulness, non-attachment, and the individual's place within a larger natural or cosmic order.