Editing Religious experience (section)

====Orientalism and the "pizza effect"====
{{Main|Pizza effect|Neo-Vedanta|Buddhist modernism}}
The interplay between western and eastern notions of religion is an important factor in the development of modern mysticism. In the 19th century, when Asian countries were colonialised by western states, a process of cultural mimesis began.{{sfn|King|2002}}{{sfn|McMahan|2008}}{{sfn|Sharf|2000}} In this process, Western ideas about religion, especially the notion of "religious experience" were introduced to Asian countries by missionaries, scholars and the Theosophical Society, and amalgamated in a new understanding of the Indian and Buddhist traditions. This amalgam was exported back to the West as 'authentic Asian traditions', and acquired a great popularity in the west. Due to this western popularity, it also gained authority back in India, Sri Lanka and Japan.{{sfn|King|2002}}{{sfn|McMahan|2008}}{{sfn|Sharf|2000}}

The best-known representatives of this amalgamated tradition are [[Annie Besant]] (Theosophical Society), [[Vivekananda|Swami Vivekenanda]] and [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]] ([[Neo-Vedanta]]), [[Anagarika Dharmapala]], a 19th-century Sri Lankan Buddhist activist who founded the [[Maha Bodhi Society]], and [[D.T. Suzuki]], a Japanese scholar and [[Zen|Zen Buddhist]]. A synonymous term for this broad understanding is [[Nonduality (spirituality)|nondualism]]. This mutual influence is also known as the [[pizza effect]].