Entering the Scorpion Seal path requires a strong samaya commitment to the living Sakyong, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, the lineage of Sakyongs, and an established commitment to ongoing practice and study. Participants will be asked to fulfill practice requirements after the Assembly and to make this the focus of their practice and study path for several years.

This commitment involves more than choosing an individual practice that we want to pursue. The Sakyong is asking the vajrayana community to join him in taking collective responsibility for manifesting this Shambhala terma and the precious legacy of the Vidyadhara for the benefit of our world.

Participants must apply and be accepted to attend Scorpion Seal Assembly Year 1.

The requirements are described below. PLEASE READ THIS SECTION THOROUGHLY.

Pre-requisites

Scorpion Seal Assembly Year 1

• A clear samaya with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche (if you have questions about this, please discuss this in an interview with an acharya)
• Warrior Assembly (or equivalent transmissions)
• Prior completion of a ngondro: either Kagyü ngöndro by number, or Primordial Rigden ngöndro by time.
• Rigden Abhisheka
• Werma Sadhana (see below)
• Membership in your local Shambhala Meditation centre/group or a Shambhala International membership if you live in a remote area where center membership is not possible. Students who don’t live near a centre can become a member of Shambhala by contacting Adrienne Gauthier at ace17@cox.net
  Students from Europe not living near a local centre can contact Christine Drabek to arrange a Shambhala Europe membership.

1. Students who first received the Werma Sadhana at a Kalapa Assembly and have either completed Kagyü ngöndro or Primordial Rigden ngondro should have:

• An established, regular, home practice
• For those who completed Kagyü ngondro: At least one full day of group practice of each of the four main sections of the Primordial Rigden ngöndro prior to the first assembly. That is, one full day of prostrations, one full day of mantra, one full day of mandala and one full day of guru yoga.
• A personal relationship and understanding of the Werma Sadhana.
• A regular Werma practice, (two to three sessions per week for several months in advance of the assembly)
• Solitary retreat focusing on the Werma Sadhana (strongly encouraged, but not required).

2. Students who first received the Werma sadhana at a Rigden abhisheka should have:

• An established, regular, home practice

• Practiced at least 160 individual 1.5-hour sessions of Werma Sadhana, as well as one month of group Werma practice (at least 2 weeks done at a practice centre intensive).
• If you have completed Kagyü ngöndro, you must also practice at least one full day of group practice of each of the four main sections of the Primordial Rigden ngondro prior to the assembly.
• Solitary retreat focusing on the Werma Sadhana (strongly encouraged but not required)

Attendance at the 2011 Scorpion Seal Assembly is conditional upon your completion of the practice requirements outlined above. If for some reason, you are unable to complete these requirements according to the plan you specified in your application, you must contact the Shambhala Office of Practice and Education to request approval to attend the Assembly. This may or may not be granted.

For more information on membership, contact your local Shambhala Centre or if you do not live near a local centre visit www.shambhala.org/giving.

ACHARYA INTERVIEWS

The Sakyong has asked that applicants to the Scorpion Seal Assembly Year 1 meet with an acharya to discuss his or her path and explore taking this next step. Interviews are optional for those registering for Year 2 assemblies.   In order to accomplish this, the Office of Practice and Education is coordinating with Shambhala centres to organize acharya interviews at local Shambhala centres and practice centres.  It is very important that students do not contact acharyas directly for interviews.

If you do not live near a centre hosting a visit from an acharya, please contact Pamela Bothwell, in North America or Karin Paties in Europe for assistance in setting up an interview.

Schedule of acharya visits to Shambhala centres 2011

Scorpion Seal Assembly Year 2 (For Students Who have Completed Previous Scorpion Seal Assemblies):

The Sakyong has asked participants who have completed the first Scorpion Seal Assemblies in 2009 or 2010 to gather at practice centers for a second year program. These retreats will focus on intensive practice of the Werma Sadhana and the other practices that were received last summer, as well as the full reading transmission of the entire Profound: The Rousing of Windhorse volume. This book will provide the basis of our training as we move forward with the Scorpion Seal path, and these second year assemblies will be a prerequisite for attending future assemblies.The 2011 assemblies will be conducted by Shambhala acharyas.

It is not necessary to apply to the Shambhala Office of Practice and Education in order to attend a second year Scorpion Seal assembly in 2011. The practice centre will verify that you have attended a 2009 or 2010 assembly when you register.

Preparation

In order to attend, you must be well on your way to completing the practice requirements set out in the year 1 assembly, and making a whole- hearted effort to fulfill any individual conditions placed on your 2009 or 2010 acceptance.

Scorpion Seal Assembly Year 3
(For Students who have completed Scorpion Seal Asssemblies Year 1 & 2)

The Sakyong will lead three Scorpion Seal Year 3 assemblies this summer. The prerequisites for these assemblies are attendance of Scorpion Seal Assemblies Years 1& 2, and completion of the mantra requirements given at those programs.

The Sakyong has expressed complete trust in the maturity of the Scorpion Seal practitioners; therefore, if you have completed the mantras required to attend Year 3, according to the guidelines from Acharyas Lobel and Rockwell, please register directly with the host centre.

Submit an Application

Information on future programs will be forthcoming. Please check back to this site periodically for updates.

Application Fee

The application fee can be paid online with Visa or Master Card) or by cheque to Shambhala, 1084 Tower Rd., Halifax, NS B3N 3C3, Canada

For Eurpoeans who don't have a Visa or Master Card, the application fee for programs at Dechen Chöling can be paid directly to Shambhala Europe.  For information about how to arrange payment, please contact Christine Drabek at drabek23@googlemail.com .

New Program Pricing Model

This year, the Chagdzö Kyi Khap, Office of Practice and Education and all the practice centres have worked together to come up with a simpler, more comprehensive system for covering the costs of our programs, including the gifts offered to the Sakyong and acharyas. We are combining the gifts and the program tuition into one single fee. Thus, this year’s fees for our advanced programs include all the honoraria for the Sakyong and the acharyas.

We are retaining the concluding tangra offering (to the lineage) as part of the concluding ceremonies, and you will be invited to make whatever voluntary offering you wish at that time.

You will also have an opportunity to make a gift to the lead acharya at the end of the retreat. If you would like to understand this new comprehensive fee and how it will work in more detail, please click here.

Financial Assistance and Program Discounts

The host practice centre sets aside a portion of the revenue from each of its programs for financial assistance. Please note: In order to maintain consistent policies between the programs when they're held at different locations, normal discounts offered by the practice centers may not apply for this program.

After you have applied for the program, you will be provided a link to the program financial assistance application. Financial assistance awards will be determined based on relative need.

Return to the Advanced Program Page.