Volunteer Program Overview

The Nyingma Work-Study program is a vigorous and challenging experience which combines work, spiritual practice and study with community living. Benefits include shared accommodations, vegetarian meals and a small living allowance.

Classes in Buddhist teachings and practice are offered free to volunteers in the evenings five nights a week. Volunteers work with one of our many projects six days a week, Monday through Saturday.

LOCATION
There are two locations for the Nyingma Work-Study Program

Work-Study Program in Berkeley, CA

The Nyingma Institute in Berkeley provides shared
accommodations, vegetarian meals and evening classes
for Work-Study volunteers. Volunteers work with the Tibetan Aid Project, the Prayer Wheel Project. or the volunter staff of the Nyingma Institute. Nyingma Institute is also the educational center offering classes, retreats and workshops on Buddhism to the general public.

Work-Study Program at Ratna Ling, Sonoma County

Located 100 miles north of San Francisco in the beautiful
coastal mountains of Sonoma County, Ratna Ling is home to
Dharma Publishing, the Yeshe De Tibetan Book Projec t and
Ratna Ling Retreat Center. Work-Study volunteers live in a
variety of shared accommodations, have vegetarian meals in
the Ratna Ling Lodge kitchen and participate in evening
on-site classes and classes teleconferenced from Nyingma
Institute in Berkeley. Volunteers work with one of the three
organizations centered at Ratna Ling.

VOLUNTEER WORK

Ratna Ling in Sonoma County offers positions with the Yeshe De Tibetan Book Project. This work includes folding, collating, cutting, assembling, wrapping and boxing traditional Tibetan Buddhist texts. No experience is required, although those with experience with bindery machines are appreciated. Hands-on and technical training is provided.

The Tibetan Aid Project in Berkeley. is especially in need of people who can offer thier expertise and experience in IT, web site maintenance and graphic design.

Opportunities with Dharma Publishing at Ratna Ling in Sonoma County, include promotion, sales, marketing,
shipping, invoicing, computer systems and network administration, graphic design for print and web, electronic
pre-press, and small art production.

The developing Retreat Center at Ratna Ling is in need of
those with skills in cooking, landscaping, rough carpentry, electronic systems management and general facilities maintenance.

Please visit our Participating Organizations page to get a full overview of the Nyingma community of projects and
organizations world-wide.

CLASSES

Buddhist classes, practices and study are an important
component of the Work-study program.

Work-Study volunteers in Berkeley take evening classes at
Nyingma Institute. Classes offered include meditation, Tibetan yoga, Buddhist psychology and other courses developed from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. See Nyingma Institute for a complete class schedule.

Ratna Ling offers volunteers on-site classes in Tibetan yoga,
Buddhist psychology, general Buddhist studies and more. There are also two-way video conference classes between the Nyingma Institute in Berkeley and the Ratna Ling site. For
details on classes offered at Ratna Ling contact the Nyingma
Volunteer Office by email at dharmavols@nyingma.org

For further details on our Work-Study program and to download an application, click here.

© 2007 Nyngma Centers