Whether it's part of Zen philosophy, I don't know, but it's been found in a number of studies that meditation makes you kinder towards others, and increases compassion and empathy, and decreases biases, so I don't agree with your insinuation that the purpose is to "make yourself precious and ignore the world."
I, too, used to think meditation and zen philosophy were particularly solipsistic, and only about improving oneself, and then I read enough studies to convince myself that "improving oneself" is actually a laudable goal that involves becoming a better person for the rest of the world.
In one classic study, participants randomly assigned to learn meditation vs unrelated cognitive skills were significantly more likely to offer their seat when a disabled person walked into the lab weeks later. Other studies have shown similar effects.
I, too, used to think meditation and zen philosophy were particularly solipsistic, and only about improving oneself, and then I read enough studies to convince myself that "improving oneself" is actually a laudable goal that involves becoming a better person for the rest of the world.
In one classic study, participants randomly assigned to learn meditation vs unrelated cognitive skills were significantly more likely to offer their seat when a disabled person walked into the lab weeks later. Other studies have shown similar effects.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/07/mindfulnes... (Opinion)
https://static.squarespace.com/static/52853b8ae4b0a6c35d3f8e... [Psychological Science]
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52853b8ae4b0a6c35d3f8... [PLOS one]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3156028/
http://scan.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/09/28/scan...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23957283