An Intensive Three-month Dharma Training Retreat
at the Dzogchen Retreat Center USA

June 28 through September 28, 2009

Announcing the Dzogchen Lineage Internship 2009

The Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation is pleased to announce the Dzogchen Lineage Internship 2009. This retreat will be a three-month program beginning on June 28, 2009 and concluding on September 28, 2009. New interns should plan to attend the entire three months.

News Flash: $1,000 scholarship established, apply by May 22, 2009.

Overview of the Dzogchen Lineage Internship

The Dzogchen Lineage Internship will be an intensive course of study and training in the view, meditation and conduct of the Buddhist Sutras and Tantras. The course will be conducted in English, yet its structure and content will be according to the ancient and traditional teachings of India’s Shri Nalanda University, as inherited and transmitted by Tibet’s Dzogchen Shri Singha Five Sciences University. This great tradition integrates scholastic methods with personal instruction and meditation techniques to allow students to progress infallibly and swiftly from a logical understanding of the Dharma to an unwavering realization of the Dharma.

For thousands of years, these methods of training have led many Buddhist practitioners to attain the supreme result of enlightenment and become holders of the Dzogchen Lineage. This internship will be a rare and precious opportunity for contemporary students to study and train in the methods of the Dzogchen Lineage.

To learn more about the successful completion of the Dzogchen Lineage Internship 2008 please visit our news page.

This internship is intended for Buddhist students who sincerely want to benefit others and to realize wisdom and compassion in this lifetime. It is for students who have faith in the Dzogchen Lineage, and who understand that progress in Dharma requires comprehensive training and continuous diligence in the three techniques of learning, contemplation and meditation. Our kind Vajra Master teaches us that, "Human life is precious. Life is impermanent. In this short life, if you realize that your top priority is teaching Dharma to others for the sake of world peace, then this Dzogchen Lineage Internship program is for you."

The intensive and comprehensive approach to the teachings used in this Internship are specifically intended to help students to become Tutors, Guides & Teachers of the Dharma, as well as Dzogchen Lineage Holders.

Our Kind Vajra Master and Internship Leader

His Eminence
Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche

We are extremely happy to announce that our kind teacher Dzogchen Lineage Holder Khenpo Choga Rinpoche, a professor and meditation master of Dzogchen Shri Singha University, will lead the internship and provide daily instruction to all students during the entire three-month Internship. This internship is an extraordinary opportunity to receive profound instructions directly from a living Vajra Master born and trained in Tibet.

Click here for a biography of Khenpo Choga Rinpoche.

Cost of Retreat

The fees for the retreat have a scholarship built-in. For the benefit of participating students, the internship fees have been minimized to our projected expenses to operate the retreat. Instruction is provided free of cost. Donations to the teacher are optional, but are encouraged. Food and lodging are included in the fees charged for the internship. Students must support themselves financially during the internship and are expected to cover the costs of their health care and any personal necessities. Students are required to purchase in advance the books listed above. Due to the consecutive nature of the instructions, students who leave the internship for any reason will not be allowed to return to this particular Intern program. No refunds will be made after the internship has commenced.

Cost of the Three-Month Internship:

$3,500 USD if paid in full by June 1, 2009
$4,000 USD if paid in full by June 15, 2009
$4,500 USD if paid in full by June 28, 2009

In order to encourage young people to attend this internship, an additional discount of 10% will be offered to students in need who are 25 years of age or younger.

If you have a sincere intention to participate, but have time or resource restrictions, you may contact the Internship Director to discuss other possible options. We are also seeking donors to help provide financial aid. Please contact the Internship Director if you would like to contribute or volunteer.

Overview of Requirements for Students Attending
the Three-Month Dzogchen Lineage Internship

This Three-month Dzogchen Lineage Internship will be an intensive course of training.  It is important that prospective students should understand the demands of this internship and be willing to meet certain requirements. Students will have taken Buddhist refuge and Bodhisattva vows, and will have completed at least two retreats with H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche prior to the start of the internship. For a student who does not meet this requirement, they must be endorsed and trained prior to this Internship by a graduate of the Six-month Dzogchen Lineage Internship held during 2008. Please contact your local Dharma Center or the Internship Director for more information about how to qualify.

Students must be of legal age, or be accompanied by their parent(s) or legal guardian(s).  They should be of sound mind and body. Students will need to prepare for the internship in advance by doing the specific preparatory exercises and study program outlined in The Buddha Path.
           
Students will live at the secluded and rural Dzogchen Retreat Center USA where they will study and practice in groups as well as on their own for approximately twelve hours a day on a fixed schedule.  Students will be expected to obey all laws, and the rules of the retreat center as well as the specific rules and schedule of the internship.  Students must commit to attend the entire three-month internship and plan to forgo other obligations or distractions.     

Admission to the internship will be through an application process, with applications being reviewed by the internship registration committee prior to acceptance.  Registration is limited, so please register early if you think you may attend.  

We welcome applications from all people who would like to join this course of internship in the Dzogchen Lineage.  We encourage all sincere and well-intentioned Buddhist students to learn more about this program by visiting the internship website, contacting us and asking any questions you have. 

The Great Merit of Supporting Dharma

Even if you will not be able to attend this internship, you or anyone else you know may earn tremendous merit by supporting those attending. Your financial contributions provide an invaluable condition for the success of this program. Supporting Buddhist education generates great merit for the donor. If you would like to contribute financially or with your time, contact us immediately. Your assistance is necessary and greatly appreciated.

There are many ways you can help:

1. Offer donations
2. Sponsor students or other volunteers
3. Volunteer at the retreat center before or during the internship
4. Recite the Heartfelt Dharma Aspiration Prayer
5. Encourage your friends to participate

Application Process

The application process is as follows:

1. Applicant fills out the online application form.
2. The Internship Director acknowledges that the applicant has applied and sends more information.
3. The Internship Director will interview the applicant over the phone.
4. The Internship Director will present the applicant to the Internship Committee for approval
5. If approved, the Internship Director will ask the applicant to sign the Internship Agreement and mail it in with a 25% non-refundable down payment.

The Dzogchen Lineage Internship is Organized by
the Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation USA

The Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Boulder City, NV. Founded in 2002, the Foundation was created to support the preservation, practice, and transmission of the ancient and unbroken Dzogchen tradition in the modern world. Having successfully acquired the Dzogchen Retreat Center USA in May 2007, the Foundation is now focusing its efforts on planning the Three-Month Dzogchen Lineage Internship Program under the spiritual guidance of Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche.

Mission of the Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation USA

The Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation’s mission is to support the preservation, practice, and transmission of the ancient and unbroken Dzogchen tradition in the modern world. The Dzogchen Wisdom Lineage—Buddha’s entire authentic teaching—is a time-tested tradition of practice with specific techniques to achieve both the immediate goal of individual happiness and the ultimate goal of Vast Awakening.                                  

For more information, please contact:

Hazlitt Krog, Internship Director
hazlitt@gmail.com
USA telephone: 4I5-846-36l8