2014 Dzogchen Lineage Internship
One- or Three-Months of Intensive
Dharma Training
at
the Dzogchen Retreat Center USA
July 9, 2014 ~ August 11, 2014 ~ October 26, 2014
Last updated: December 6, 2013
Dzogchen Internship Information and Registration Site
Invitation Letter Request Form
Heartfelt Dharma Aspiration Prayer
Contact the Internship Directors
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Announcing the 2014 Dzogchen Lineage Internship
The Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation is pleased to announce the 2014 Dzogchen Lineage Internship. This intensive program of Dharma study and practice will begin on July 9, 2014 and conclude on October 26, 2014. There will be a one-month long option ending August 11, 2014. Immediately following the one-month retreat will be Rigdzin Dupa Drupchen from August 13 through August 24, 2014.
Registration is limited, so be sure to fill-out the online registration as soon as possible.
Overview of the Dzogchen Lineage Internship
The 2014 Buddha Path Retreat & Internship Program is an intensive course of study and training in the view, meditation and conduct of Buddhist Sutras and Tantras.
There are two options this year: one month and three month.
ONE MONTH OPTION
2014 Dzogchen Lineage Internship
International Buddha Path Teacher Training
July 9 through August 11, 2014
The first month of the Internship is the One-Month International 3rd Edition Buddha Path Teacher Training, an annual assembly of the International students of Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche. Attendees of the first month are required to have attended at least one seasonal retreat within the Dzogchen Lineage or be tutored by a graduate of a prior Internship who can help you prepare for the retreat.
For the retreat fees and other details that are specific to our International Sangha, please contact the Internship Director and she will put you in touch with the director or coordinator for your region.
International Directors
- Ani Padma Dechok Tso, Internship Director
- Devan Miller, Internship Assistant Director
- Rikkianne Chatfield, Internship Assistant Director
- Russian Director: Elena Komarova
- Asia Director and China Coordinator: Li Heng
- Hong Kong Coordinator: Catherine Leung Miu Ling
- Taiwan Coordinator: H. Phoebe Huang Marzec
- Canada Coordinator: Mina Ming
- Singapore Coordinator: Tan Cheok Ann
Note: sessions during the one month Internship will include Chinese and Russian language translation.
THREE MONTH OPTION
2014 Dzogchen Lineage Internship
Advanced Buddha Path Retreat Program
July 9 through October 26, 2014
The full three-month program is intended only for graduates of prior Dzogchen Lineage Internships. This option is intended for those who sincerely want to become Dzogchen Lineage teachers, 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.
Celebrating Our Seventh Year
Since 2008, the annual Dzogchen Lineage Internship Program has been an intensive course of study and training in the view, meditation, conduct, and result 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 previous five 2008–2013 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 the 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 translators and tutors facilitate discussion and understanding of each day’s teachings in English, Chineses, and Russian.
Our Kind Vajra Master and Lead Instructor
His Eminence Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche in 2012. Photo by Wongmo.
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.
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Requirements
The 2014 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
Please contact the Internship director if you need any clarification on the following prerequsites:
Prerequisites for the One-Month Option of the Internship:
- Students attending the one-month option are required to have taken Buddhist Refuge
- Must have attended at least a one week retreat within the Dzogchen Lineage OR receive 10 tutoring sessions by an authorized Dharma Teacher of The Buddha Path
- Must have permission to attend by the Internship Director
- Must arrive by July 9 and promise to remain in retreat through the one month concluding ceremony
- Must be fluent in one or more of the following languages: English, Chinese, Russian
Prerequisites for the Three-Month Option of the Internship:
- Must have graduated from at least one previous Internship Program
- Must have given eight formal public Dharma teachings in the year prior to attending
- Must have permission to attend by the Internship Director
- Must be fluent in English
- Must arrive by July 9 and promise to remain in retreat through the three month concluding ceremony
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 whichever retreat option they select in it's entirety, 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 friends and 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 rigorous and dynamic 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 2014 Internship Handbook, which will be distributed electronically to all admitted applicants.
Admission
Admission to the internship will be through an application process. The Internship Application Committee will review all applications. Attendance is limited, so please apply early if you think you want to participate.
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 the receipt of the application 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 because there is no profit motive and fees have been minimized to cover projected operating expenses. Food, lodging, and all utilities 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 One-Month Option:
$2,000 USD (Discounts may apply, see below.)
Cost of the Three-Month Option:
$4,000 USD (Discounts may apply, see below.)
Discount Options
Any one of the following five discount options can be applied to your Internship fees. The following five discount options cannot be combined in order to obtain a deeper discount:
- Discount of $500 for 3-month or $150 for 1-month for teens 18 and under
- Discount of $500 for 3-month or $150 for 1-month for seniors 65 and over
- Discount of $500 for 3-month or $150 for 1-month for graduates from two prior Internships
- Discount of $1,000 for 3-month or $300 for 1-month for graduates from three prior Internships
- Discount of $1,500 for 3-month or $500 for 1-month for graduates from four or more Internships
Additional Discounts
In order to encourage international students to attend this internship, an additional discount of $300 USD is offered to applicants in need who are flying to the retreat from outside North America (e.g., from Asia, Russia, Europe, South America, Africa, or Australia).
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 additional discounts, contact the Internship Director.
All fees must be paid in full by July 1, 2014.
Your early payment allows us to better prepare retreat facilities for the Internship. We appreciate your early commitment.
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 founded in 2002 in Boulder City, NV. The foundation was created to support the preservation, practice, and transmission of the ancient and unbroken Dzogchen tradition in the modern world.
Since successfully acquiring the Dzogchen Retreat Center, USA in May 2007, the Foundation has focused its efforts on organizing an ongoing series of educational retreats with the Dzogchen Lineage Internship Program as our premiere program. The Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation operates under the spiritual guidance of Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche and the direction of our diverse Board of Directors.
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
Request an Invitation Letter for an Extended USA Visa
If you come from a country where you need to apply for a visa to stay in the USA for the duration of your retreat, an invitation letter may help. To request an invitation letter from the Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation, please register as soon as possible for your retreat, then fill out the form below for each person in your family who will be attending from overseas. One of our volunteers will respond with your invitation letter as soon as possible.
Click here to submit an Invitation Letter request.
Dzogchen Internship Information and Registration Site
Invitation Letter Request Form
