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ANNUAL RETREAT SCHOLARSHIP PROJECT

Starting this year, a group of donors will grant at least one scholarship per year for the three months annual retreat in Sravasti Abbey. Our goals are:

  • to helping those who for the moment, for any reason, are in no situation to gather the dana to attend the annual retreat,
  • to promote a culture of generosity,
  • to facilitate participation of the community of Dharma practitioners in long meditation retreats,
  • to encourage community service and involvement with our society and
  • to help Sravasti Abbey.

To apply for the scholarship, the participants will submit a proposal to the group of donors outlining some specific work for the community (social, environmental or any kind of beneficial work) that they would be interested in performing, and DO IT! This could be any time of volunteer work that benefits others, for example, working at a homeless shelter, volunteering in a Dharma center, finding homes for pets, etc. Use your imagination and do what inspires you!

At least one participant per year will receive a scholarship, but by performing their projects, all the participants will be winners, creating lots of positive potentials and helping their community.

Additionally, to make the scholarship program self-sustaining, each recipient agrees to raise an amount of money equal to the scholarship within five years and offer it back to the scholarship fund.

Between the yearly scholarship provided by the donors and the ones offered by the participants, in a few years we will have a very interesting group of people doing the retreats, supported by the generosity, work and enthusiastic effort of many others.

Anyone can apply for the scholarship. These are the requirements to participate:

1. To be a Dharma practitioner with a few years of practice and study and with interest in doing the three months annual retreat in Sravasti Abbey.

2. To belong to a Dharma group or to have some connection to Sravasti Abbey, Ven. Thubten Chodron or any of her teachers, or any of the donors. In short, we want to be able to verify that the person applying for the scholarship has enough Dharma background and preparation to do the retreat and is serious about their community work project.

3. The participants will send their proposal outlining their community work as soon as possible. They will have the months of May, June and July to do it. The project has to be completed by August 1.

4. All applicants for the scholarship should send in a deposit of $500 by August 1. This is so that the group of donors will know each applicant is serious about coming to the retreat.

5. The participants will send a report to Sravasti Abbey about their experience doing community service. The report, which is due by August 15, will be evaluated by the group of donors and Ven. Chodron. The report should be detailed, preferably with photographs or video.

6. The recipient of the scholarship will be announced on September 1. The recipient will offer their $500 deposit to the Abbey as part of the dana for the retreat. The rest of the dana will be covered as a scholarship given by the donors.

7. The $500 deposit will be returned to the applicants who do not receive the scholarship, unless they are able to gather their share of the dana for the retreat by other means and would like this to remain as a deposit guaranteeing their place in the retreat, or unless they would like to donate that amount to the Abbey even if they do not participate in the retreat that specific year.

8. The recipient will sign a commitment to participate in the retreat and to offer the amount they receive as a scholarship to the Abbey’s retreat fund within five years. In that way, the recipient will enable someone in the future to receive a retreat scholarship.

If you are interested in participating and would like more information, or if you would like to become one of the donors, please write to

 
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