Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c31.64

c31.64

**Cultural Intercourse between China and India.** In conclusion, we may note that, at the time of I-tsing's visit to India, there was noticed no interruption of the movement of Chinese scholars to India as the home of their holy learning and of Indian scholars to China to spread the holy learning. Since the time that Buddhism was introduced into China ("nearly 700 years ago"), "Indian Bhikshus," says I-tsing, "came to China one after another, and the Chinese priests, of the time being, crowded together before them, and received instruction from them. There were some who went to India themselves and witnessed the proper practice there" (p. 23). Among the Chinese scholars sojourning in India in his time, I-tsing mentions the names of three. At Tāmralipti, I-tsing met a pupil of Hiuen Tsang, Mahāyānapradīpa by name, who stayed there for twelve years and acquired a thorough mastery of Sanskrit. With him as guide and companion I-tsing visited Nālanda, Vaiśālī, and Kuśinagara (p. xxxi). Previous to him was another zealous Chinese student named Hiuen Chao who stayed at Nālanda about A.D. 649 and studied under the teachers Jinaprabha and Ratnasiṁha (lviii). The third Chinese scholar mentioned by I-tsing was Wu-hing, the Dhyāna master, with his Sanskrit name Prajñadeva, who, landing in Southern India at Negapatam, had visited the monasteries of Mahābodhi, Nālanda, and Tilaḍha, before I-tsing saw him. "Near Tilaḍha lived a teacher of logic from whom Wu-hing learned the logical systems of Jina and Dharmakīrti, etc." (xlvi). I-tsing bade him good-bye after seeing him off "six yojanas east of Nālanda". Besides Chinese scholars, I-tsing refers to "the Mongolians of the North" sending students to India (p. 26).