Meditation in The West (Denis Diderot)

By the 18th century, the study of Buddhism in the West was a topic for intellectuals. The philosopher Schopenhauer discussed it, and Voltaire asked for toleration towards Buddhists. There was also some influence from the Enlightenment through the Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot (1713–1784), although he states, "I find that a meditation practitioner is often quite useless and that a contemplation practitioner is always insane".