2024 Costa Rica Retreat

2024 DZOGCHEN BUDDHA PATH

COSTA RICA RETREAT 11 March 2023 to 18 March 2023

Teachings and Trainings on The Buddha Path The Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation is pleased to announce the Dzogchen Buddha Path Costa Rica Retreat. This program will be taught by Eminent Bodhi Lama Master, Dr. Shannon Young under the guidance of His Eminence Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche.

The 2024 Costa Rica Retreat will commence on Tuesday, March 12 at 8:00 am and conclude on Sunday, March 17 at 6 pm. Participants should plan on arriving at the facility on Monday, March 11 and leave on Monday March 18. The training will include in-depth and direct teachings on the sacred text The Buddha Path, the Buddhist fundamentals, and will include many practices including mantra recitation, reciting sacred text, visualizations, music making, light offerings, and food offerings. Please register here.

1

About the Teacher Bodhi Lama, Dr. Shannon Young, Pema Shiwa Tso, is an authorized Lama and Dharma Teacher in the Dzogchen Lineage of Buddhism. Shannon received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2001 and has been a practicing Pharmacist for over 23 years. She first studied with her root teacher His Eminence Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche in 2003 and for over 21 years has studied and practiced with Rinpoche while helping establish the Dzogchen Retreat Center, USA, the Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation USA, and One Path Outreach, a humanitarian project.

About the Costa Rica Retreat Facilities The villa is on the beach at Punta Islita, it is located near the Punta islita hotel , if you arrive by plane you must arrive at Liberia airport and proceed to Punta Islita, which is a three-hour drive. The house is about a hundred meters from the hotel.

2

About the Program What to Expect at the Dzogchen Buddha Path Costa Rica Retreat “Retreat” means withdrawing your body, speech, and mind away from busy, meaningless, and negative activities, freeing yourself to focus on helping all beings. Away from worldly distractions, you can wholeheartedly train your mind in the Way of True Happiness. In retreat you will practice Dharma with more joy, depth, and intensity than you have likely experienced before and the results may surprise you. By training your mind using the skillful means of the Dzogchen Lineage you will take steps toward your own awakening.

The Dzogchen Buddha Path Retreat Program is one week of diligent learning, contemplation, meditation, prayer, and discussion surrounded by precious sangha and experienced Dharma teachers.

It is a unique opportunity to increase your love, compassion, and wisdom. During this week you will learn how to increase your happiness, causes of happiness, and the happiness of all beings, while decreasing the suffering and causes of suffering of all beings. By committing to spend a week practicing to this end, your mind will be transformed and you will have a more positive effect on your loved ones and all beings.

Please register here.

Program Pricing The fee for this remote-learning program is $1,500.

As always the teachings and ceremonies themselves are offered free of charge, but it is traditional in Buddhism for the student to make an individual offering to the teacher during the program. You may voluntarily make an offering to the teacher at anytime during the program. It is most auspicious to do this at the beginning of the program at the end of the opening ceremony.

Attendance To accumulate group power, students – without exception – will be required to attend all sessions in order to participate in the program. In other words, participants cannot miss any of the sessions and then continue to participate in the remainder of the retreat without special permission.

Daily Program Schedule and Sessions There will be a updated published schedule before the start of the program, which will include: ● Preliminary Practice ● Morning Teaching by Bodhi Lama Shannon Young ● Personal Practice Sessions (thuns) ● Afternoon Tutoring and Q&A Sessions with Sangha Member Mila Maren ● Concluding Practice Participants will be given ample time to cook, eat, exercise and maintain their precious human bodies. As part of your daily practice, from about 10:30 PM to 6:30 AM, you will be required to maintain a vow of silence and not engage in any normal waking activities except using the bathroom.

3

These times may vary from day to day, but the idea is that you will be laying down resting your body for 8 hours every night and not unnecessarily disturbing other people.

Please register here.

Translations Sessions will be taught in English with Spanish translation if needed.

Essential Requirements It is important that prospective retreatants understand the demands of this retreat and are willing to meet certain requirements. ●

Have already taken preliminary refuge vows in the tradition of the Dzogchen Buddha Path Lineage or who are ready to take refuge vows in this tradition.

To attend the retreat, one has to be drug-free and mentally stable. Possession or use of smoking materials, illegal or mind-altering drugs, or non-prescribed pharmaceuticals are not permitted. You may of course bring with you and take any prescribed medication.

You must have the willingness and commitment to practice with the group during all sessions of the retreat. You should have good physical and mental constitution to be able to sit with us for the daily schedule, and a good temperament to be able to get along with others.

Accommodations Sleeping accommodations are shared rooms. Mattresses and basic bedding are provided. You are encouraged to bring your own pillow.

Food The cost of the retreat includes three meals a day as well as limited snacks. The food will be local varieties, with some vegetarian choices—though not necessarily vegan. Tea or boiled water will be available at the retreat site. Retreatants with special dietary needs should note this during their retreat registration and also discuss this with the retreat director as we may not be able to accommodate every individual’s dietary needs.

Attendance Participants without exception will be expected to reside at the retreat center for the duration of the retreat. Specifically, there is a sacred retreat rule that participants who leave the retreat once it is in progress are not permitted to return to that retreat. Exceptions are sometimes made in cases of emergency or when given advance permission by the teacher guiding the retreat.

Children Children are much-beloved, however we have no special program or supervision for children at this retreat. In the past, children have attended these retreats, but have only been able to do so as full, conscious, responsible participants under the immediate supervision of their parents. If you would like to bring children to the retreat, please call the Event Director first before registering and discuss this with us in detail.

4

Any minors (less than age 18) must have a parent or legal guardian present during the entire retreat and must be provided with full-time care if they are not attending the sessions. Participants must commit to attend the retreat in its entirety, and plan to forgo other obligations or distractions during that time.

Participants can expect to have limited external contact and should prepare their friends and families accordingly.

The retreat center does not provide daycare facilities or staff for childcare during the retreat, but this could be arranged. Parents are responsible for arranging for the care and special needs of children who are too young to participate in the daily teaching and study schedule. Caregivers engaged by parents may remain at the retreat center as long as they or the parents that hired them pay the standard daily fees for visiting workers.

Mental Preparation Participants will reside at the retreat site in Costa Rica where they will study and practice in groups and individually for twelve to sixteen hours a day on a rigorous and dynamic schedule. Participants will be expected to obey all national, state, and local laws as well as the specific rules and schedule of the retreat.

Due to the consecutive nature of the instructions, participants who leave the retreat for any reason will not be allowed to return. Attending the complete retreat is required for all participants. There is no partial retreat option.

Retreat Preparation Participants must prepare for the retreat in advance by completing the specific study and practice program provided by their local Dzogchen Shri Singha Dharma Center. ● ● ●

Study the fundamental Buddhist principles Study the Vajrasattva practice in the Tantra practice of The Buddha Path, 2nd edition Study the Five Negative Thinkings and how they transform into the Five Positive Thinkings

Travel Preparations ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Acquire a valid Passport Acquire travel insurance.

Acquire special items (e.g., pollution mask(s) or respirator… see “What To Bring” below) Bring clothes for warm weather.

Bring personal medications and vitamins.

Bring The Buddha Path text and personal holy objects.

Bring personal hygiene supplies.

Bring a personal cushion if needed.

Bring some emergency medicines such as anti-diarrhea medicine, mosquito spray, etc. Please seek a doctor’s advice.

What to Bring Plan for the weather to be warm to hot. Rain is possible. Please bring appropriate sleeping gear and appropriate dry clothing, and shoes. In short, bring any supplies you need with you for the entire duration of the retreat. Please plan ahead so that you bring everything you will need for your entire stay. This includes things like enough of the specific toothpaste or shampoo you like. The types of stores and 5

supplies you are used to will not be accessible during most of your time in India. Please consider bringing the following: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Flashlight and extra batteries Toiletries Covered water bottle Ritual objects i.e., your bell, dorje, dhamru, etc.

Copy of The Buddha Path practice book Sitting cushion Sun hat and sunscreen Cool clothing for daytime Slippers for inside Enough changes of clothes to get you through a week (you will have very limited access to washer / dryer).

Notebook and pens Computer and charger (if you so choose)

What to NOT Bring The following are NOT permitted. Any retreatant found to be in violation of these prohibitions will have grounds to be immediately dismissed from the retreat and required to leave the retreat center grounds. ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Cigarettes, tobacco products, or other smoking materials Drugs that have not been prescribed to you by your physician Weapons such as guns Fireworks Alcohol Pets Anything that is against international law or violates Costa Rican law

Weather It is your responsibility to know about the weather for the retreat center for the time of year you’ll be visiting and to pack the appropriate clothing and gear. Please visit a weather news service when packing for the retreat such as weather.com. You may want to look at an extended forecast and check the historic high and low temperatures to help in your planning to decide what to bring.

General Health Concerns The retreat organizers endeavor to provide healthy food, enough hours of sleep, positive activities, and beneficial teachings. Participants should take care of their own health, bring along any emergency supplies such as antidotes to any life-threatening allergies, and expect to be able to handle the somewhat rigorous teaching and practice schedule of the retreat. If you are taking any type of pharmaceutical that can influence your mental state (including but not limited to antidepressants, diabetes, and thyroid medications), we require that you bring an adequate supply for your entire visit in Costa Rica and that you consistently follow the usage pattern and medical advice prescribed by your physician. You must inform the retreat director of your special medical conditions when you register.

6

Apply Today Applications are currently being accepted. We welcome applications from all who would like to attend.

We encourage all sincere and well-intentioned Buddhist students to apply.

Admission to the 2024 Costa Rica Retreat will be based on an application process. Attendance is very limited; not everyone who applies will necessarily be admitted. Those who want to participate must apply before the application deadline of February 11th. Late applications will not be considered.

Application Process The application process is as follows: ● Applicant fills out the online application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUGKdQevtpKpYRtO9ippIhu2GOh2DUMGyp-t59 JXT7qnYkWw/viewform ● The Local Dharma Center Director acknowledges the receipt of the application and may send more information. ● The Local Dharma Center Director interviews the applicant in person or over the phone. ● The Local Dharma Center Director presents the applicant to the Buddha Path Miracle Retreat Committee for approval. ● If approved, the retreat director asks the applicant to sign the Retreat Agreement and return it with a 25% non-refundable down payment in order to reserve a room.

Early applications will be considered first and will have a better opportunity to be accepted.

Retreat Fees and Payments $1,500 USD – For all participants. This fee covers all retreat site preparations, accommodations, meals, and educational resources. Teachings are provided free of cost.

All fees must be paid in full by February 11. Prompt payment will help us to purchase supplies for the retreat in advance. Complete your payment here after registering.

What is Not Included in this Retreat Fee Participants are expected to cover the costs of their health care and any personal necessities during and after the retreat. ● ● ● ●

International and domestic flights and personal ground transportation is not included.

Personal expenses and necessities such as medications are not included.

Medical, emergency, or travel insurance and expenses are not included.

Individual meals or drinks and tips are not included.

Making Offerings Retreat costs do not include any personal donations or offerings to the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, or Vajra Master. Any offering to the teacher or to the hosting organization that you would like to make should be prepared separately from your payment for the fees for this event.

7

The Buddhist teachings during the retreat are free, but note that within Dzogchen Buddhist tradition, the teacher does not charge the organizers for the teaching services, and therefore individual offerings by retreatants to the teacher are always welcomed and needed in order to support the teacher's Dharma activities. This is also a gesture of appreciation, respect, and aspiration for the promulgation of Buddha's teachings.

Q&A If you have any questions, or are just wondering if this event is for you, you should contact us in advance to discuss. This page will be updated with some of the answers to questions posed, so questions are very much welcomed.

If you have any questions about anything, don’t hesitate to contact the program director, via mila.maren@thebuddhapath.org

The Great Merit of Supporting Retreats Even if you will not be able to attend this retreat, you or anyone else you know may earn tremendous merit by providing facilities for those on retreat. If you would like to contribute financially or with labor, contact us immediately. If you would like to help or would like more information, please contact the retreat director.

8