Scholarship History
When the retreat program started in early 2008, it was conceived along with the idea that a number of Buddhist students would all be doing retreat at one physical location together along with the ACI-LA Spiritual Director, Venerable Sumati Marut. There was also the idea that many students, including the Spiritual Director, would be doing a traditional, three-year Buddhist great retreat. Money raised during this first period of the program was always for the purposes of supporting the retreatants themselves.
Since April 2009, the retreat program has shifted the method, but not the intention, of these original ideas. The scholarship program is still for the purposes of supporting qualified practitioners to complete extended retreats. However, those retreats will now be occurring wherever the individuals can find suitable places, spread potentially across the United States and even the world. Also, retreat scholarships through this program are now open to people who are proposing a minimum retreat length of at least three weeks, as long as they meet the other requirements.
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Please help sponsor a student in deep retreat! Why?
- Long Retreat is an essential part of the Buddhist teacher-training program
- The equivalent of our doctoral dissertation after years of study and practice
- These teachers and students have dedicated their lives to the service all living beings - that means you!
- The scholarship recipients will be some of the most highly trained Buddhist teachers in the world upon completion of their retreats
- Regular employment must be suspended during the retreat, that's why they need your help!