This article talks about century old relations between India and China. Some excerpts are -

No other nations has attached as much importance to the Great Center as the Supreme Principle as we Chinese have done – with the only exception of India. In fact China’s concept of the Great Center echoes India’s call for the Madhyana-Pratipad!

The time has now come for us to see retrospectively the earlier chapters of Chinese history and realize that we have neglected another important source of culture from which we have abundantly benefitted, namely, the cultural heritage of India. In fact, the interaction and assimilation of the two cultures has continued in depth and spread across my country China so much that it has become an essential part of our own spiritual makeup, our nation’s lifeblood. 

Indeed, a variety of key concepts in Indian culture can find their echoes on our side, for example, ‘Brahman’ for ‘Heaven’ in the ‘Ordinance of Heaven, how inscrutably sublime it is and goes on forever’. ‘Atman’ for ‘human beings’ in ‘The humans are the soul of all creatures!’ (Oath of Tai). More significantly, ‘dharma’ both the eternal dharma, Sanatana Dharma, strongly echoes the exalted wisdom embodied in ‘Dao’ as the mysteriously mysterious mystery and the gateway of all wonders’. 

Although the Indian tradition is incomparably vast and broad, and immeasurably rich and opulent, it is overwhelmingly complex, and apparently chaotic. But beneath all the chaos and complexity there is a basic spiritual unity.

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This article was first published in the August 2017 issue of the Prabuddha Bharata, monthly journal of The Ramakrishna Order started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896. This article is courtesy and copyright Prabuddha Bharata I have been reading the Prabuddha Bharata for years and found it enlightening. You can subscribe online at www.advaitaashrama.org. Cost is Rs 180/ for one year, Rs 475/ for three years, Rs 2100/ for twenty years. To know more http://advaitaashrama.org/pbSubscription

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