20250708201341-Andrew-Bishop-Submission: Difference between revisions
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20250708201341-Andrew-Bishop-Submission
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{{SavedApplication | {{SavedApplication | ||
| | |status=Checked | ||
|Submissiondate=2025-07-8 | |Submissiondate=2025-07-8 | ||
|Submissionyear=2025 | |Submissionyear=2025 | ||
|page=20250708201341-Andrew-Bishop-Submission | |||
|firstname=Andrew | |firstname=Andrew | ||
|lastname=Bishop | |lastname=Bishop | ||
| Line 15: | Line 17: | ||
|telephone=2039624015 | |telephone=2039624015 | ||
| | |retreattype=Three-year retreat | ||
|center=Gomde Pyrénées | |||
|centerstreet=Rangjung Yeshe Gomde | |||
|centerstreet2=Mas Can Pere Correau RD 13 | |||
|centercity=La Bastide | |||
|centerstateprov=Pyrenees-Orientales | |||
|centerpostalcode=66110 | |||
|centercountry=France | |||
|startdate=2026-06-01 | |||
|enddate=2029-12-31 | |||
|retreatmaster=Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and Drupon Tenzin Sangpo | |||
|retreatadministrator=Mikk Tamme | |||
|retreatliaison=Mikk Tamme | |||
|cvedu=Boston College (May 2015) - BA in International Studies and Philosophy with a Minor in Political Science | |||
Rangjung Yeshe Institute - 1. (Fall 2013) Visiting Student; 2. (Fall 2018 - Fall 2019) MA Prep; 3. Fall 2020-Fall 2024) MA in Buddhist Studies [Tsadra Fellow] | |||
|cvwork=Yoga Instructor - (May 2018-present) currently teaching in 11 locations across CT; Lead Teacher YogaSix Stamford | |||
Center Manager and Oral Interpreter at Gomde Pyrenees - (December 28 - March 19) | |||
Behavioral Therapist, Academic Tutor, and School Shadow at Waverly Group, Greenwich, CT - (August 2020 - August 2024) | |||
|studiedtibetan=Yes | |||
|spokentibcomprehension=Excellent command | |||
|writtentibcomprehension=Excellent skills | |||
|tibetanrequiredforretreat=Not required | |||
|tibetanretreatparts=Instructions will be given in Tibetan and translated into English by either myself or another retreatant. The texts and teaching materials are in both Tibetan and English. Group practice (twice per month) will be chanted in Tibetan. Individual practice can be chanted in Tibetan or English. | |||
|otherlanguage1=English | |||
|otherlanguage1Prof=Native command | |||
|otherlanguage2=Spanish | |||
|otherlanguage2Prof=Very good command | |||
|otherlanguage3=Nepali | |||
|otherlanguage3Prof=Good command | |||
|introbuddhism=I began studying Buddhism in 2013 during a study abroad semester at Rangjung Yeshe Institute. This counted toward my undergraduate degree in Philosophy and International Studies at Boston College. When I returned in the Spring of 2014, I began studying Buddhist philosophy and ethics at Boston College with John Makransky. Upon graduation in 2015, I left the U.S. and traveled through some of South Asia participating in Buddhist courses and retreats in various traditions. I quickly landed back at Rangjung Yeshe Institute and within the mandala of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and have been studying under his guidance as both a student and practitioner ever since. My studies and practice have been mostly in Nepal however I have spent extended periods at affiliated retreat centers in Europe and the Americas. | |||
|refugehistory=I took refuge on November 19, 2013 with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche during his annual seminar at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling in Kathmandu, Nepal. | |||
|formalvows=Yes | |||
|formalvowsdetails=I took refuge again as well as some of the lay precepts with Lama Zopa Rinpoche during the November course in 2015. | |||
I took Bodhisattva vows with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche under the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya in October of 2015. | |||
|ngondrocomplete=Yes | |||
|ngondro1=Tukdrub Barchey Kunsel | |||
|ngondro1begin=2018-10-31 | |||
|ngondro1end=2025-07-30 | |||
|ngondronotes=I am currently finishing this Ngondro but the application would not let me submit without indicating YES here. I am currently within the Guru Yoga section. | |||
|previousretreatscomplete=Yes | |||
|previousretreatsdetails=In 2015 I completed the one-month November Course at Kopan Monastery. I spent the summers of 2016 and 2017 in retreat at Gomde California and spent five months in retreat in 2020 at Gomde Pyrenees, including participating in the three month sphere of refined gold retreat from March-June 2020. | |||
|ynadvstudiesprogs=Yes | |||
|advstudiesprogsdetails=I spent a visiting semester at RYI with a full course load of introductory Buddhist courses. Then I returned in 2018 as a full-time MA prep student and began to study Tibetan language in addition to Buddhist scripture. In 2020 I was accepted to the MA program in Buddhist Studies at RYI as a Tsadra Fellow and graduated in December 2024 after completing my thesis on the Dharmadharmatavibhaga. | |||
|ynofferedservices=Yes | |||
|offeredservicesdetails=I have served the my Teachers, monastery, and various affiliated centers since I first was introduced in 2013. When in Nepal I serve as a liaison for new students, translator and editor for seminar and retreat materials every Fall, Teaching Assistant at RYI during the Fall 2018, Spring 2019, and Fall 2019 semesters, assistant manager at the RYI restaurant and English tutor to the Tibetan language partners during the year of 2019, amongst spontaneous requests for assistance. At Gomde California I helped in the kitchen during Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche's seminars in 2016, 2017, and 2024. At Gomde Pyrenees I worked in the Lama Kitchen cleaning linens and dishes in 2018 and 2019. In 2020 I translated at Gomde Pyrenees for a three week Green Tara Retreat led by Ani Kunga from Nagi Gompa. I have traveled with Rinpoche an assisted him on four pilgrimages to Bodh Gaya. In December 2024, I traveled with Tulku Pasang Tsering and Khenpo Tsondru Sangpo to Gomde Pyrenees and translated for them during their month long stay. From January until March 19 of 2025, I was the Center Manager, main cook, and oral interpreter at Gomde Pyrenees. I managed Rinpoche's seminar in January of 2025 and oversaw volunteers for the most recent three-month retreat. | |||
|othercommunitywork=I have been passionate about community work since a very young age. From April 2016-2018 I lived at Haley House, a soup kitchen in Boston that provides free meals for people experiencing homelessness. It is run by volunteers that live in community together in the building. During this time I would spend summers at Gomde CA in retreat and as a volunteer. Since 2018, I have been teaching Yoga in every community I land in. I now teach in 11 locations, including studios, senior centers, businesses, free outdoor classes, classes for the queer community, meditation circles and Dharma talks. This is currently the spaces where I feel most able to connect the Buddhist teachings with the needs of my immediate community. | |||
|retreatduration=43 | |||
|StartFunding=2026-06-01 | |||
|EndFunding=2029-12-31 | |||
|costestimateCurrency=EUR | |||
|costestimate=32,250 | |||
|requestedamountCurrency=EUR | |||
|requestedamount=30,000 | |||
|othermoney=Since I have been a full-time student for most of the last decade, I do not currently have a robust savings account. I also do not descend from a wealthy family and while they are supportive, they are not able to significantly contribute to this retreat. The reason I have waited until now to apply is in order to find paid work and calculate what I may be able to contribute from own side, as I am starting from zero. While 30,000 euros would cover most of the retreat expenses, I am relying on my own savings and the support of family and friends to cover the remaining costs as well as my personal expenses here in the US during that time, which include property taxes and insurance on a small retreat cabin in upstate CT. Additionally, one member of the sangha has pledged to offer me a monthly amount of 300 euros to cover health insurance, visas, and incidentals. Another has offered a small lump sum to help cover monthly bills in the U.S., and I am hoping to have some money saved from my side for offerings and post-retreat transition | |||
|letterofmotivation=As long as I can remember, this mind has been oriented toward wanting to better understand reality and serve others. From a young age I was attuned to the suffering of myself and others, and demonstrated both a deep capacity for compassion and commitment to justice. This combination of curiosity, compassion, and courage has displayed itself in many different iterations of personal expression, commitment, and affiliations over time. I was raised Catholic and was inspired by the teachings of love and community, but struggled with exclusivity and could not find teachers interested in humoring my existential inquiries. As I continued to grapple with an insatiable urge to find answers for myself and others, I found myself at Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling as a 20 year-old student on a study abroad semester. I was burning with questions and a desire to meet people who had discovered some shred of personal freedom and universal insight. I found that these qualities were endorsed and taught in Buddhism, exhibited by the monastic teachers at RYI, and most powerfully by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche upon meeting him and receiving Teachings. | |||
I was struck by much during that 2013 semester in Nepal, but most by the dawning reality that there is a living tradition of embodied freedom that is rooted in compassion and wisdom inherent to all beings. It felt then and continues to feel as if the discovering of Buddhist Teachings and Teachers is like discovering a wish-fulfilling jewel. Increasingly it feels more and more like returning home; like discovering new mirrors. After 12 years of deep commitment to learning from and within this tradition, I am blessed to have the aspiration to spend a few years of this life engaged in committed practice under the guidance of Teachers that know and love me, and that I love and trust. | |||
As someone who is naturally very skeptical, I understand for myself the importance of combining study, reflection and meditation. While I have had the aspiration to do a three-year retreat since 2018, I was instructed by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche to first complete a Masters at RYI. I have therefore strived to understand and apply the Teachings through study until this point, and have been blessed with many opportunities for shorter retreats and group ritual. After completing the MA and spending time serving my Teacher and the center where I hope to retreat, I feel ready and eager to devote myself to practice within the support of extended retreat. I am extremely fortunate to have a close relationship with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Lama Tenzin Sangpo, our monastic sangha, and the community of Gomde Pyrenees such that this particular retreat feels aligned. I have good familiarity with the practices of our lineage, and deep faith in the Teachers that uphold them. To spend the next three and half years cultivating love, compassion, and wisdom for the benefit of all beings is a rare and invaluable opportunity that I have tried my best to prepare for. | |||
|FileHaveAcceptLetterUpld=2025-07-30_Andrew_Bishop_-_Acceptance_Letter.pdf | |||
|AcceptLetterAuthorFirst=Tenzin | |||
|AcceptLetterAuthorLast=Sangpo | |||
|AcceptLetterPhone=+3725531133 | |||
|FileHaveRetreatBudgCostUpld=2025-07-30_Andrew_Bishop_-_Retreat_Costs.pdf | |||
|CostLetterAuthorFirst=Mikk | |||
|CostLetterAuthorLast=Tamme | |||
|CostLetterPhone=+3725531133 | |||
|FileHaveEligibilityDocsUpld=2025-07-30_Andrew_Bishop_-_Eligibility_Requirements.pdf | |||
|FileHaveCVUpld=2025-07-30_Andrew_Bishop_-_CV_Resume.pdf | |||
|FileHaveDharmaCVUpld=2025-07-30_Andrew_Bishop_-_Dharma_Resume.pdf | |||
|FileHavePhotoUpld=2025-07-30_Andrew_Bishop_-_Photo.jpg | |||
|FileHaveDescriptFinSitUpld=2025-07-30_Andrew_Bishop_-_Financial_Situation.pdf | |||
|recom1NameFirst=Tenzin | |||
|recom1NameLast=Sangpo | |||
|recom1Relate=Meditation Teacher | |||
|recom2NameFirst=Benjamin | |||
|recom2NameLast=Habito | |||
|recom2Relate=Friend | |||
}} | }} | ||
Latest revision as of 12:14, 31 July 2025
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