NEW – NEW – NEW – NEW
We would like to announce our new Certified Dharma Teacher Program. This program was created to train future teachers and leaders of the Salt Lake Buddhist Fellowship. This training is specific to the Fellowship and should not be confused with a lay ministry program such as Bright Dawn.
The program’s focus will be on giving the participant a better understanding of Buddhism, specifically the traditions and teachings specific to the Salt Lake Buddhist Fellowship.
The program will be done in an apprentice model with imostly in-person instruction. This model provides opportunities to use the knowledge and skills developed during your training as you learn. The instruction portion will be rather intensive and take about 4 months. The apprenticeship portion will be an additional 2 to 3 months. During this period of the program, you will lead classes, give dharma talks and glimpses, learn altar set-up, and participate in other sangha activities.
The CDT program will help us build a robust and sustainable tradition. As a CDT, you will help lead the Fellowship in creating a spiritual home for all who come through our doors.
THE START DATE IS YET TBD ( Sometime After Retreat)
We understand everyone’s schedules differ, and we are committed to finding a start date that works for most participants.
Prerequisites
To apply to the program, the participant will need to have been attending the fellowship regularly for at least 6 months, and should have – or be willing – to formally take Refuge before becoming a CDT. (Note: If you have taken Refuge with another community, this can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis).
The participant should be willing to meet in person twice a month for 4 to 7 months. The expectation is a minimum of 75% attendance with all assignments completed.
Application
As part of the application process, the participant will need to submit a personal essay of around 1000 words answering the following three questions:
What brought you to the Fellowship? This can include your past and present spiritual explorations.
Why have you stayed with the Fellowship?
Why do you want to become a Certified Dharma Teacher?
Interview
Another part of the application is a short one-on-one interview with Christopher Kakuyo Sensei, to personally share the elements from your application essay, and ask any questions that you might have about the program.
If you are interested and would like more information about specific classes, program outlines, and other readings, please email me at sensei@saltlakebuddhist.org with CDT in the subject line.
Below is our current reading list.