Biography of Hazlitt
Hazlitt is a Buddhist teacher in the Dzogchen Lineage tradition who travels alone around North America presenting Buddha's teachings to the public.
Christened as Hazlitt Eiler Krog and born in the same week that His Holiness the Dalai Lama fled Tibet, Hazlitt has experienced a profound connection with the Dzogchen Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism without renouncing his Christian roots. He has cultivated a deep respect for all spiritual practitioners who relentlessly seek the truth no matter what system of faith or science they use as an vehicle for their exploration. He recognizes the importance of Interfaith dialog as a way to deepen our understandings of both the similarities and differences of various inquiries into what is truth.
Hazlitt’s parents, who both came from farming families in the Midwest, picked an auspicious place to raise their family only 30 miles from the Canadian border and not far from Niagara Falls, Lake Ontario and the Erie Canal. In the Western New York township of Hartland, Hazlitt was raised as a Christian and church-goer, but found the most solace outside exploring his idyllic natural phenomena on the many acres of land his parents owned, and farther afield at regional gorges, waterfalls and caves. From an early age, Hazlitt’s inquisitive mind found him also exploring Eastern religious texts and meditation techniques.
With his father a research scientist, his mother a teacher, and both hobbyist photographers, they encouraged in him an early fascination with media and technology. His strongest early memory is hiding under his crib as a toddler, so that he could secretly play with his parent's Brownie camera. At age 12 he became an avid Super-8 filmmaker and editor. He also built and operated a photographic darkroom and later a recording studio in his childhood home.
As he grew up, he felt he was missing some important answers to his life questions. The teachers he encountered in his rural surroundings could mainly teach him worldly ways. Leaving the agricultural area of his childhood, during his college years and thereafter he began to encounter various spiritual teachers and traditions. During this time he began to develop a deepening understanding of the ancient wisdom embodied in Buddha Shakyamuni’s teachings.
Hazlitt graduated from SUNY Fredonia with a Bachelor of Arts in Special Studies titled “Music, Video and Film Production.” Prior to becoming a Dharma teacher, he pursued a series of overlapping careers and avocations as a musician and songwriter, videographer and editor, multimedia producer, web producer, project manager, publisher, entrepreneur, investor, photographer and author.
A major turning point for him was in 1991, when he attended the Kalachakra Initiation conferred by His Holiness the Dalai Lama upon more than four thousand people in Madison Square Garden's Paramount Theater. The experience of being present in the room with His Holiness, day-after-day during the empowerment, greatly inspired Hazlitt. The awareness of just how special the Buddhist Nalanda Tradition was began to dawn on him. If it had not been preserved and perpetuated in Tibet after it had been destroyed in India, it would not exist today.
Over the years, Hazlitt has sought out Tibetan Buddhist teachings, empowerments, meetings and blessings from numerous masters including: Sogyal Rinpoche, Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso, Namkha Drimed Rinpoche, Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, Loppon Jigme Rinpoche, Adzom Rinpoche, Lama Surya Das, Nyichang Rinpoche, Arjia Lobsang Thubten Rinpoche, Geshe Ngawang Dakpa, Khempo Yurmed Tinly Rinpoche, Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Dzogchen Gemong Rinpoche, Anam Thubten Rinpoche, Lama Thupten Dorje Gyaltsen, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche Yangsi, Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche, Tulku Jigme Tromge Rinpoche, His Holiness IVth Dodrupchen Rinpoche, His Holiness Sakya Trizin, Ratna Vajra Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Khenpo Konchok Monlam Rinpoche, Thubten Nyendrak Rinpoche, Rigzin Tarchin Rinpoche, Dzogchen Geydak Rinpoche, Bakha Tulku Rinpoche, Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche and Lama Pema Dorje.
In May, 2002 by way of long-time friends Gonga Nath and Tara Leela, Hazlitt met the Tibetan meditation master and scholar who would become his root teacher. Gonga had arranged Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche's first North American teaching tour. The first San Francisco Bay Area teaching was an afternoon teaching in Fairfax, California not far from where Hazlitt was living in Sausalito. The morning of the teaching, Gonga called and asked Hazlitt if he could borrow a microphone for use by Khenpo Choga. Hazlitt arrived before the teaching to set up his small sound reinforcement system. Staying on for the teachings, Hazlitt felt an immediate karmic connection to Khenpo Choga Rinpoche. Although Khenpo's English vocabulary was very limited at that time, Hazlitt found that nonetheless, his ability to transmit authentic foundational Dharma was far beyond any other teacher he had ever encountered, Hazlitt spent the next 11 days on the road with Khenpo Choga receiving non-stop teachings in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. That July, he took refuge with Khenpo during a Bodhisattvacaryavatara retreat in Boulder City, Nevada.
Since 2002, Hazlitt has spent well over a year in residential retreats with Khenpo and many additional months with him on pilgrimage in India and Nepal, and assisting him during his numerous North American teaching tours. He has now participated in over 21 separate retreats taught by Khenpo Choga. Since June 2008 this has included the nine months comprising the two Dzogchen Lineage Internship programs. During these retreats, he received specific empowerments and special transmissions on Phowa (transference of consciousness, the Tibetan Buddhist instructions for dying), Tummo (the practice of inner fire), Guru Rigdzin Dupa, Yidam Palchen Dupa, Dakini Dechen Gyalmo, Dzogchen Khandro Nyingthig, Dzogchen Longchen Nyingthig, Orange Manjushri, Green Tara and Guru Rinpoche. Although the Internships were focused on teacher-training there were special instructions given and time set aside for Ngondro accumulations.
Khenpo has requested and authorized Hazlitt to teach the foundation of Buddhadharma as much as possible, and granted him the title, Upasaka Bodhisattva Pema Bhadra Dorje, Dharma Teacher of The Buddha Path.
Hazlitt has tirelessly volunteered in support of Dharma activities and teachings, organizing and promoting teaching tours, hosting teaching events and as the Retreat Director for several Dzogchen Lineage retreats. For seven years he served as the President of the Dzogchen Buddha Institute in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 2005 has been a Director on the board of the Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation USA and presently serves as an officer of the board. He was instrumental in the Foundation's acquisition of the 160-acre Dzogchen Retreat Center USA near Eugene, Oregon.
Much of Hazlitt’s adult life has been spent living in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Over the years he also resided in Arizona, Westchester County, Southern Connecticut and Southwestern Oregon. He currently maintains a Dharma base in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hazlitt is presently single with no children, and has plans to engage in Dharma teaching tours in North America and overseas, blog about Dharma, write additional books, write and perform Dharma-inspired music and accumulate additional years in retreat. He sincerely wishes that all beings meet with authentic Dharma teachings as swiftly as possible, so that they may come to understand, experience, and realize that the nature of their thinking is True Happiness, Buddha.
Hazlitt's Teaching Certificate
