• Be a Buddhist. This means you must have taken refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, committing yourself to follow the Buddhist path. It is absolutely necessary to have taken the refuge vow (during a formal refuge ceremony with a qualified lama) in order to be qualified to take the higher vows and Initiation required to do a tantric practice such as this Vajrasattva Retreat.
• Have taken the Vajrasattva Initiation, which will require taking the aspiring and engaging Bodhisattva Vow. Tushita will arrange for these Vows and Initiation to be given during the Orientation Week.
• Be in stable mental health with no recent history of mental illness. During the Orientation Week, all retreaters must have an interview with the Retreat Leader and/or Spiritual Programme Coordinator to check suitability.
• Have significant experience in the Lam Rim (the graduated path to enlightenment). This includes both study of Lam Rim topics AND Lam Rim retreat experience, such as several 10-day Lam Rim courses, a one-month Lam Rim retreat, or several individual Lam Rim retreats.
• Check with your teacher, if now is an appropriate time to do this retreat.
• Come with a strong determination to complete the entire retreat! Some people doing this retreat will have a commitment to complete 100,000 mantras or to do a three-month retreat, and others may have no commitments at all. The commitment will vary according to the Lama giving Initiation. In any case, please be aware that this retreat is not a holiday! It is hard and intensive work and one needs a firm motivation and determination to cope with the difficulties which inevitably arise.
• Have read all information on this website about the retreat, the Rules of Discipline and Keeping the Silence, and agree to follow the discipline of the retreat. If a person's behaviour becomes disruptive to the group, Tushita management has the right to ask them to leave.