Vajrapani Institute
P.O. Box 2130
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
(831) 338-6654 

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General Course Information  

If you have, or are about to register for a course at Vajrapani Institute, please take time to read all the information below.

Check-in 

Course registration is usually between 3pm and 5pm on the first day of retreat unless stated otherwise. Give yourself plenty of time to register, settle, find your bearings etc. before dinner time at 6pm. 

For weekend courses, unless otherwise stated, plan to depart around 1:30 on Sunday after lunch. 

Fees 

Course Fees vary. Please see specific fees as listed under Courses and Group Retreats. 

Sangha Rates

Members of the Ordained Sangha may be eligible for scholarship and special rates for Vajrapani Institute courses. Click here for more information.

Registration 

If you are planning to be a resident during a course, advance registration is a requirement. Please call us at 831-338-6654, or email us at vajrapani@vajrapani.org. A $25 non-refundable deposit will reserve your accommodation in the dormitory. Otherwise a 25% deposit of the total retreat cost will be required.  

For commuters, pre-registration is also strongly recommended. (If we don’t know how many people are coming, it’s hard to gage how many people to feed or how many prayers to print!). Thank you for your co-operation. 

Cancellation Policy 

With at least two weeks notice, you may cancel your reservation and receive a refund for your deposit less a $25 processing fee. If you cancel within two weeks, we will hold your net deposit (deposit less the $25 processing fee) for up to one year to apply to another program, named by you at the time of cancellation. No refunds or credits are given for cancellations one week prior to arrival day or less. If you have paid in full in advance, refunds will be determined based on the standard deposit rate for your reservation.

Cutting Short Your Stay

If you decide to cut short the duration of your stay you need to tell us 2 weeks prior to the dates you are changing, otherwise you are fully liable for the cost of the dates you have reserved. In the event that we take a replacement booking, we may, at our discretion, refund you for the dates you cancel.

Certain programs may have unique cancellation policies, which supersede our general policy. These will be described on our website on the description page for that program.

Financial Assistance

We offer a number of schemes to help ensure that the Dharma is accessible to all who are interested. Click here for more details.

What to bring 

A warm sleeping bag; towel and toiletries; sturdy walking shoes; flashlight and batteries; an alarm clock; and all the things that you would take when going away for a weekend in an outdoor setting. If you will be camping, you will also need a tent and sleeping mat. 

Note: If you are staying in a cabin or private room, bed linen and blankets are provided. 

Karma Yoga

Offering service to a dharma center is an incredibly meritorious activity. The Buddha has taught us how to use our daily tasks such as cleaning, gardening and so on into deeply meaningful meditations. As such, every course participant gets allocated a karma yogi task as part of their dharma experience. The tasks generally involve kitchen clean up and housekeeping duties like dish washing, vegetable chopping, sweeping, looking after tea area and so forth. Your duties should take up about 30 minutes of your time each day. You duty will be assigned upon registration. Thank you for your co-operation. 

Meals

Due to the complexities of cooking for a group, we ask individuals to eat what is being offered rather than making special food requests. However, we do our best to cater to medical related dietary restrictions. If you have special medical related dietary requests, please communicate your needs fully and specifically to the Vajrapani office Manager BEFORE your arrival at Vajrapani. Please send an email to the attention of vajrapani@vajrapani.org stating which retreat you are attending and outlining your needs. Thank you.

No Shows 

Unexpected things often arise. If for whatever reason you need to cancel your registration, please do let us know prior to the start of the course. Even if it's the day the retreat starts, please give us a quick call to notify us!

Course Manager

A position for Course Manager Scholarship might still be available for future courses. Click here for more information. 

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