Alternate History Thought

Zeng He sailed west from China - several thousand miles. He got as far as the Red Sea and possibly Kenya. If he'd gone east instead he could have reached the North American coast. Not that the social and political early contacts would have been less traumatic than what happened between the Spanish and the Tiano and Toltecs, but I do think that their approach to spirituality would have been more aligned.
Here are some more thoughts on Buddhism and Native American philosophies:
http://buddhistfaith.tripod.com/nguyentri/id27.html
Interestingly, Zeng He himself was neither Buddhist nor Daoist - he was a Muslim who was both very ambitious, but another example of religious syncretism. Making it fun to imagine 16th century Buddhist monasteries built where the Spanish missions are...their architecture might still be Islamic-influenced. As for the fate of the Native/First Nations peoples? A tough question...