If you find it difficult to go to Nepal and India and study Tibetan these days, perhaps you can find some inspiration in the life and liberation of the great Chinese translator Xuanzang. Concerned with the misinterpretation and errors in the Buddhist tradition at the time in China, he decided to travel to India and search for answers. These days it takes around two days to get in India from Europa, but it took Xuanzang eight years to get to Nalanda. He travelled for about 17 years, and when he arrived back in China he took about 650 sanskrit books with him. He translated more then 70 sutra's and shastra's. A list of them can be found here .
I'm writing all this is because I've had the fortune to come across a
Chinese production, with english subs, of a 6 hours long documentary-film and re-enactment of Xuanzang's life and journey. The re-enactment is done marvellously, and we travel along with Xuanzang from China through the Gobi dessert, Kyrgyzstan, the lands of the Western Turks, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Odiyana, Samarkand, and in India the Punjab, Bihar and so on. One of the best re-enacted parts is when he arrives in Nalanda, and the Abbot of Nalanda, Silabhadra, teaches him and many monks the massive Yogācārabhūmi śāstra by Maitreya.
The documentary seems to be available on Youtube here, so enjoy!
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