Dzogchen Lineage Internship 2011
Three-Months of Intensive
Dharma Training
at
Dzogchen Retreat Center USA
July 24 through October 24, 2011
Announcing the 2011 Dzogchen Lineage Internship
The Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation is pleased to announce the 2011 Dzogchen Lineage Internship. This intensive program of Dharma study and practice will begin on Sunday, July 24, 2011 and conclude on Monday, October 24, 2011. There will be a two-month long option ending Saturday, September 24, 2011.
H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche and Dzogchen Geydak Rinpoche
with the staff and 43 graduates of the first Dzogchen Internship, Class of 2008
Overview of the Dzogchen Lineage Internship
The Dzogchen Lineage Internship is an intensive course of study and training in the view, meditation and conduct of Buddhist Sutras and Tantras. This program follows the authentic and traditional teachings and techniques 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 the unwavering realization of Dzogchen.
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 program is 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 2008 and 2009 Dzogchen Lineage Internships, please visit our News page.
Is the Dzogchen Lineage Internship Right for Me?
This internship is intended for those who sincerely want to benefit others and 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, the root of happiness, requires comprehensive training and continuous diligence in the three techniques: learning, contemplation and meditation.
As Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche teaches us, "Human life is precious. Life is impermanent. If you realize in this life that your top priority is teaching Dharma to others for the sake of world peace, then this Dzogchen Lineage Internship program is for you."
Based on the belief that lasting change must come from within, the Dzogchen Lineage Internship serves to create Dharma teachers with a firm foundation in Buddhist fundamentals. Throughout the course of this internship, students will train in increasing renunciation, compassion, faith, love and wisdom, changing themselves for the better so that they might better serve others.
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.
Khenpo Choga Rinpoche teaches all courses in English, drawing upon his knowledge of Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese when appropriate. Internship tutors facilitate discussion and understanding of each day’s teachings.
Our Kind Vajra Master and Lead Instructor
His Eminence
Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche
We are extremely happy to announce that our kind teacher Dzogchen Lineage Holder Khenpo Choga Rinpoche, a meditation master and professor of Dzogchen Shri Singha University, will lead the internship and provide daily instruction to all students during the entire three-month internship. This program 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.
Overview of Requirements
The 2011 Dzogchen Lineage Internship will be an intensive course of Buddhist study and practice. It is important that prospective students understand the demands of this internship and be willing to meet certain requirements.
Prior Retreat Experience
Students are required to have taken Buddhist Refuge and Bodhisattva vows, and completed at least two retreats with H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche prior to the start of the internship. Applicants who do not meet these requirements must receive training and endorsement from a qualified Dharma teacher. Please contact the Internship director for more information.
Expectations
Minors must be accompanied by parent(s) or legal guardian(s). All students must be of sound mind and body. Students must commit to attend the entire two- or three-month internship and plan to forgo other obligations or distractions during that time. Students can expect to have limited contact with the outside world and should prepare their families for this.
Students will live at the secluded and rural Dzogchen Retreat Center USA, where they will study and practice in groups and individually for approximately twelve hours a day on a fixed schedule. Students will be expected to obey all federal, state and local laws as well as the rules of the retreat center and the specific rules and schedule of the internship.
Retreat Preparation
Students must prepare for the internship in advance by completing the specific preparatory exercises and study program outlined in the 2011 Internship Handbook, which will be distributed to all admitted applicants.
Students must commit to attend the entire three or two-month internship and plan to forgo other obligations or distractions during that time.
Admission
Admission to the internship will be through an application process. The Internship Application Committee will review all applications. Registration is limited, so please apply early if you think you may attend.
We welcome applications from all who would like to attend. 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 they have.
Application Process
The application process is as follows:
- Applicant fills out the online application form. The Internship Director acknowledges that the applicant has applied and sends more information.
- The Internship Director interviews the applicant over the phone.
- The Internship Director presents the applicant to the Internship Committee for approval.
- If approved, the Internship Director asks the applicant to sign the Internship Agreement and return it with a 25% non-refundable down payment.
Internship Fees
For the benefit of participating students, Internship fees reflect a built-in scholarship with fees being minimized to only cover projected operating expenses. Food and lodging are included. Instruction is provided free of cost. Donations to the teacher are optional, but are encouraged. 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. No refunds will be made for any reason after the internship has commenced.
Cost of the Three-Month Internship:
$3,500 USD – must be paid in full by July 10, 2011
Cost of the Two-Month Internship option:
$3,000 USD – must be paid in full by July 10, 2011
Discount options
Any of the following discount options can be applied to either of the above Internships. The following discount options cannot be combined to attain a deeper discount:
- $500 discount for teens age 18 and under
- $500 discount for seniors age 65 and up
- $500 discount for graduates from one prior internship
- $1000 discount for graduates from two prior internships
- $1500 discount for graduates from three prior internships
Your early payment allows us to better prepare retreat facilities for the Internship. We appreciate your early commitment.
In order to encourage young people to attend this internship, an additional discount of 10% may be offered to applicants in need who are 25 years of age or younger. To apply for this discount, contact the Internship Director.
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.
For each of the previous Dzogchen Lineage Internships, not only have all internship fees been used entirely toward operational expenses, but each internship has been heavily subsidized by the generous sponsorship of sangha members around the world. So even if you cannot attend this year’s program, we sincerely request your support. Please contact the Internship Director if you would like to contribute or volunteer.
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 2007, the foundation is now focusing its efforts on organizing the 2011 Dzogchen Lineage Internship Program. The Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation operates under the spiritual guidance of Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche and the direction of seventeen board members from six states.
Mission Statement 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.
The Great Merit of Supporting Dharma
Even if you will not be able to attend this internship, you or anyone else you know will earn tremendous merit by supporting those who do. As internship fees do not cover the cost of running the program, your financial contributions provide an invaluable condition for the success of this internship. Your donations are tax deductable to the full extent of the law. Supporting Buddhist education generates great merit for the donor. If you would like to contribute financially or with your time, please contact us immediately. Your assistance is necessary and greatly appreciated.
There are many ways you can help:
- Offer donations
- Sponsor students or other volunteers
- Volunteer at the retreat center before or during the internship
- Recite the Heartfelt Dharma Aspiration Prayer
- Encourage your friends to participate
For more information, please contact:
Sean D. Young, Internship Director
Adam Kaessner, Internship Assistant Director
Email: 2011dzogcheninternship@gmail.com
Phone: 702-343-5833
Mail:
Dzogchen Retreat Center
4325 Commerce St., Suite 111-442
Eugene, OR 97402 USA
