The West accepts the Material World as Real. The Eastern World accepts only the Inner Self as Real.  The attached pages delve into this in greater detail. 

The people in the West for example would believe in the reality of the external perceived world,  but would not consider the perceiver or the self to be real or permenant. Their minds are said to be turned "outward". So the Westerner would explore the external world through science and rationality to seek ways to perpetuate this existence and make it physically appealing and comfortable.

The Easterner on the other hand would consider the external world as transient or temperory and turn his vision inward to identify the means to attain permenance. He would dismiss the external world as MAYA or an illusion over which he has no control. The Paramathma repeatedly states in the Bhagavatham that the external world is indeed Maya or illusory and has been created only for the purpose of observing and understanding our own inner selves. He clearly states that the answer to the quest for Permenance lies within our inner selves.