6 Modules and 2 Retreats in Holland
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Description
Price Options:
Standard rate: €6500
Supporter rate: €6900
The course
The Buddha envisaged a path that led directly to its culmination in a deeply ‘embodied’ understanding of the Four Ennobling Truths (ariya sacca) and the freedom entailed in such a realisation. Such a path addressed every dimension of a human being’s existence by pulling together the various facets of their personality – emotions, intellect, reason, passion and energy – and directed them at the consummation of the goal.
The 2022-23 CPP Sangha
The Committed Practitioners Programme (CPP) is a core programme of Bodhi College.
It is a longer, extended programme, in which experienced practitioners can immerse themselves in the timeless teachings of the Buddha. With a multi-faceted approach, it is grounded in the early teachings found in the Pali Canon.
Students are encouraged to develop and cultivate an experiential understanding of these teachings of awakening, and we will investigate how they apply to our meditative practice and our daily life.
We explore the question of what it means to be awake and to flourish as a human-being through embodying the profound understandings offered by the Buddha.
The CPP offers a number of different, yet interwoven strands within its framework – teaching, discussion, community, reflection and investigation. All participants will have previous experience with dharma practice and a working knowledge of core Buddhist teaching. One of the primary intentions of this extended programme is to encourage participants to embed the teaching in every area of their lives.
The CPP is for you if you have some understanding of and a keen interest in the early teachings of the Buddha, have at least 30 days silent retreat experience and are now ready to truly commit to your study of the texts and practice combined.
Maybe you are looking to be personally mentored or would like to develop a warm and supportive community (sangha) around you and your practice.
People from all different types of professions, ages, genders and backgrounds have taken this course, and deeply value the sense of coming together from many different perspectives in rich encounters and exchanges around a shared passion for living this life in an as wholesome and non-harming way as possible.
Modules
All modules are held in the beautiful environment of Naarden, in the Netherlands. Sessions include sustained blocks of teaching and discussion, ample time for questions and small group discussions. Several sitting periods are scheduled each day and silence will be observed from the end of the evening session until after breakfast the following day.
The modules offer the chance to blend the teaching with formal practice and give plenty of opportunity for participants to engage with one another.
Retreats
The two retreats are held at the ITC Naarden. Both week-long retreats have a study practice format, and are held in silence apart from the teaching sessions.
Community
The fostering of community and peer relationships is a key element of the CPP programme. Between modules, we encourage participants to set up buddy peer groups that meet regularly to support each other and reflect together on the explorations offered in the source book. These are invaluable opportunities to deepen in understanding, to listen to and learn from each other.
Sourcebook
Participants will be provided with a source book that highlights different aspects of the teaching. There will be dharma themes to investigate and selected readings, covering some of the most important discourses in the Pali Canon. The sourcebook provides an ongoing path of reflection, investigation and application. Engagement with the material in the sourcebook encourages us to embed the teaching into every aspect of our lives.
Mentoring
Part of the CPP program is a mentoring relationship with a faculty member or an associated teacher familiar to the CPP program and its style of teaching and suggested practices. While you may already have a previously existing mentoring relationship with a Dharma teacher, you will for the duration of the CPP programme be paired with a mentor provided by the teaching faculty; this will be a teacher from the CPP faculty or someone affiliated with Bodhi College and its trainings. You are encouraged to have contact with your mentor every 6 weeks, focusing on the current course material and its practical application. We anticipate these check-ins to be half an hour in length and it is important to keep the arranged dates.
The mentors have access to the source book, and the sessions need not be face to face. The conversations between mentor and student are to be held in confidence by both parties unless there is agreement or need to share the discussion with others. It is the responsibility of the student to arrange the mentoring sessions, and the mentoring relationship is a dāna relationship: your mentor does not receive any payment and may well be living on dāna.
Commitment
Commitment is key to benefitting most deeply from this programme. The willingness to check in regularly with your mentor and peer groups, to engage with the sourcebook material and to attend every module and retreat will ensure you derive the most benefit from participating.
This programme involves a considerable investment of time and finance. Please ensure you are in a position in your life to begin and sustain the entire course.
We ask that everyone arrives for the beginning of each module and retreat and stays until the end. The development of community is a core element of this programme and late arrivals or early departures affect the entire group dynamic.
Since it is a closed programme, it has been budgeted on full attendance and we will not, therefore, be in a position to offer refunds for any non-attendance. Participation is expected except in cases of health or family emergency.
Fees
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Applications are only accepted upon enrolling for the full course (1.5 years).
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The course teachers will review all applications.
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Successful applicants will be notified after the deadline of 15 August at the latest.
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The regular price of this programme is €6500. This includes accommodation, meals and a contribution towards the livelihoods of our teachers. If appropriate for your circumstances it is also possible to choose our supporter rate option of €6900. This price difference will go towards supporting other participants who will then be able to participate at a lower rate.
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NB: The mentoring received between sessions are offered on a Dāna-basis, and there will be the opportunity to make a contribution for these offerings following each session.
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Applicants are invited to apply for our bursary fund should they need it, once their applications has been accepted.
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The fee can be paid in instalments during year 1 and 2 , a schedule of payments will be sent with your confirmation of enrollment.
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Deposit due when your place is confirmed will be 30% of the overall rate.
Our pricing system
Bodhi College offers this programme on a fixed fee basis – meaning that the fee paid covers all costs, including the venues, our overheads, teachers' travel costs and contribution towards the livelihood of our teachers. The only exception is the individual mentoring provided by our teachers. These sessions are offered on a dāna basis, meaning our teachers receive no compensation other than that which is offered by the students.
For the rest of the course a contribution toward the living costs of the teachers is included in the price. The cost breaks down to roughly €5000 per person for course costs and a €1500 teacher fee.
If you’d like more information about our course pricing structure, please visit our website. You can also read a letter from college co-founder Stephen Batchelor, explaining the change from dāna to fee based pricing here.
Booking and Eligibility
CPP requires participants to have at least 30 days silent retreat experience. When you register, you will be asked to fill in an online application form detailing this experience and a personal statement. When you submit the application online, a place will be held for you until the application has been verified by the teachers. At this point, you will be asked to pay your deposit and this will secure your place on the course. It helps us greatly if you can complete the application online, but should you be unable, please contact the bookings administrator who will help you book onto the programme.
Please read the Booking Conditions before booking
Dates and teachers:
2025
15 March (online) - Day of introduction - Christina Feldman, Christoph Köck, Jaya Rudgard, Martine Batchelor and Yuka Nakamura.
28 March - 2 April - Module 1: Christoph Köck, Martine Batchelor
3-8 June - Module 2: Christina Feldman, Yuka Nakamura
5-12 September - Retreat 1: Christina Feldman, Yuka Nakamura, Christoph Köck
2-7 December - Module 3: Akincano Weber, John Peacock
2026
13-18 February - Module 4: Martine Batchelor, Jaya Rudgard
9-14 April - Module 5: Yuka Nakamura, Jaya Rudgard
5-12 June - Retreat 2: Christina Feldman, Christoph Köck, Jaya Rudgard
11-16 September - Module 6: Christina Feldman, Martine Batchelor
Accommodation
There are limited single rooms at our venue and they are reserved for people with the greatest medical needs. Participants must therefore enrol with the expectation to share a room or state clearly the need for a single room in the application.
Event Details
Teachers:
CHRISTOPH KÖCK was born in Vienna, Austria, and spent 17 years of his life as a Buddhist monk in the Theravadin tradition.
He lived mainly in monasteries connected with Ajahn Chah in Thailand and the West. Currently he lives in Vienna, working as a psychotherapist in a private practice. He teaches Buddhism and meditation internationally, and is trained to teach MBSR and MBCT.
JAYA RUDGARD began meditating in the 1980s and practised for eight years as a nun in the Thai Forest tradition
YUKA NAKAMURA has practised Buddhist meditation in different traditions since 1993, has a PhD in Developmental 
Venue: