Dzogchen Lineage Internship

A Six-Month Intensive Private Dharma Training Retreat
at the Dzogchen Retreat Center USA
near Eugene, Oregon

July 4, 2008 through January 4, 2009

Overview

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.

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 six-month Internship.

Click here for a biography of Khenpo Choga Rinpoche.

Course of Study and Training

The following Buddhist texts together with their commentaries will be studied and practiced at this internship. Students are responsible for acquiring their own texts prior to the internship:

Texts Regarding Daily Practice:

Core Text: The Buddha Path, by Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche

Texts Regarding the View of the Buddha Path:

Core Text: Ornament of the Middle Way, by Shantarakshita
Supplemental Text 1: Entering the Middle Way, by Chandrakirti
Supplemental Text 2: Discriminating the Middle Way from Extremes, by Maitreya

Texts Regarding the Meditation of the Buddha Path:

Core Text: Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche
Supplemental Text 1: Guide to Words of My Perfect Teacher, by Khenpo Ngakchung
Supplemental Text 2: The White Path of Liberation, by H.H. Dzogchen Pema Rigdzin*
Supplemental Text 3: Realizing Phenomena as Buddha, by Rongzom Mahapandita
Supplemental Text 4: The Generation and Completion Stages of the Vajrayana, by Khardrub Kunkhyen Tenpai Nyima*
(*English translations will be available soon)

Texts Regarding the Conduct of the Buddha Path

Core Text: Entering the Path of the Bodhisattva, by Shantideva
Supplemental Text 1: Thirty-Seven Practices of the Bodhisattva, by Togmey Zangpo
Supplemental Text 2: Perfect Conduct, Ascertaining the Three Vows, by Ngari Panchen, Pema Wangyi Gyalpo

Additional Texts

Three Additional Texts: Three Cycles of Relaxation, by Longchen Rabjam

The Internship Director will provide applicants with more details about editions and translations.

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 program at a later date and no refunds will be made after the internship has started.

Cost of the Six-Month Internship: $6,000 USD

In order to encourage young people to attend this internship, a an additional discount of 10% ($600) will be offered to students in need who are 25 years of age or younger.

Fee must be paid by: June 4, 2008

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.

Overview of Requirements for Students Attending
the Six-Month Dharma Training Internship

This six-month 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. 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, near Eugene, Oregon 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 six-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 to the first twenty-five accepted applicants, so please register early.

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 labor, 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

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 will interview the applicant over the phone.
The Internship Director will present the applicant to the Internship Committee for approval
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 ($1,500).

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 Six-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.