The great translator Xuanzang

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!

Real Milk

Have you ever drunk real milk?

Not skimmed, not homogenized, not with added calcium, not removed the lactose, not packaged and from a biological farm where they don't inject their cows with antibiotics?

In India it is actually not so difficult to get, however in our 'civilised' world it seems to be a rarity. I've recently had the fortune to acquire some. It smelled like cow. I can imagine the average consumer would not like the taste of it, since in general we're not really used to real food any more.

Ayurveda recommends never to drink cold milk, but to boil it just for a moment and to add some spices to aid digestion. The best is to use a pinch of cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric. When the milk has cooled down to drinking temperature, add some honey (never cook honey).

Milk is a complex product and it is best drunk alone. Especially don't combine milk with bananas, cherries, sour fruits, bread containing yeast, fish, kitchari (rice with beans), meat or yoghurt (source: Dr. Vasant Lad)

Homage to all the cows who so generously give us their milk!