Volunteer

Volunteer at BCBS

Volunteers are an essential part of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. By offering your time and care, you help create a welcoming refuge where people can study and practice the Dharma together.

Whether you’re supporting retreats, tending the campus, or helping behind the scenes, volunteering at BCBS is a meaningful way to deepen your practice while serving the community. We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds and experience levels.

Come join us. Your presence makes a difference.

Volunteer Spotlight
Nikhil

Nikhil spent September as our Working Guest and shared his thoughts on the experience. Nikhil left us filled with gratitude for his friendship and service. We wish him all the best and hope to see him again soon!

At A Glance:
Monthly Working Guest Program

25 Hours Per Week

Support BCBS five days/per week from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Please note that days off could be midweek.

Facilities

Help us care for our facilities and land.

Gardening

Help us cultivate herbs, vegetables, and flowers.

Housekeeping

Help us keep our spaces clean and tidy.

Kitchen

Help by taking care of kitchen laundry and light tasks like refilling spices and restocking.

Library

Help us re-shelve library books.

What we offer

2 Days Off Per Week

Take some time to yourself to rest, relax, and explore the area. We are nestled in a small town among the rolling hills of central Massachusetts where there are plenty of beautiful hiking and biking trails. The closest cities to us are 45 minutes away (Amherst, Northampton, Worcester).

Some Meals

When we are hosting programs on campus, you are welcome to help yourself to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Otherwise, we usually provide leftovers and snacks. There is a market nearby and a kitchenette in the volunteer apartment, so you can purchase groceries and prepare your own meals between programs.

Free Laundry

Use our laundry room for free.

Dharma Hall

Sit in our dharma hall between programs.

Library

Our library contains a curated collection of over 10,000 titles spanning a variety of Buddhist topics. Feel free to peruse these books at your leisure while on campus.

Private Volunteer Apartment

You will have your own studio apartment on campus furnished with a kitchenette.

Self-Guided Study & Practice

Volunteers primarily support the life of the Center while pursuing their own self-guided study and practice. Some teachers may invite staff and volunteers into their programs, but access is not guaranteed, and many retreats are closed to non-registrants. BCBS supports a self-directed path of learning through access to our library, and daily rhythms of practice, offering a rich environment for study and reflection alongside your work.

  • Intermediate English
  • Over 18 years old
  • Ability to bend and lift 50 pounds
  • Willingness to sign a liability waiver
  • One month time commitment
  • Ability to work independently (e.g., go through a checklist on your own) and as part of a team
  • Can be reached by staff by phone/email at least 1-2 times per day during work hours
  • Flights
  • Travel Insurance
  • Transportation (we will pick you up from Worcester or Springfield airports/train stations)
  • Help with VISA applications
  • Housing and meals beyond your one month stay (have a plan in place for next steps)

Volunteer
Openings

We are now accepting applications for Monthly Working Guest positions through December 2026. These positions are popular and fill quickly… Submit your application today!

If you live locally and are interested in volunteering on an as-needed basis, please select Service Volunteer on the form.

Working Guest Program

Our monthly working guest program is an opportunity to study and practice the dharma while living and working on campus. Monthly working guest positions are arranged through mutual discernment and can be extended upon mutual agreement. We are looking for applicants who have an established meditation practice, retreat experience, and a sincere desire to be of service. Additionally, because some tasks can be strenuous and physically demanding, applicants must be able to bend and lift 50 pounds. Tidiness, attention to detail, initiative, willingness to learn, and some gardening experience are also beneficial. We ask Working Guests to make a one month commitment. This allows time to settle in, get to know the flow of the center, and contribute meaningfully to the community.

In exchange for housing and some meals, you are expected to work independently and alongside staff for approximately 25 hours per week, with at least two full days off. The Center’s needs will determine specific work schedules, but we have included a sample work week below. During your free time, we invite you to explore the grounds, peruse the library, sit in the meditation hall, or drop in on program sessions at teachers’ discretion. You will be housed in a studio apartment, comfortably furnished with a bed, closet, desk, chairs, dining area, kitchenette, and bathroom. Your tasks as a monthly working guest will be varied and include housekeeping, maintaining the grounds/supporting facilities, working in the garden, and light kitchen tasks.

Duties typically include:

  • Laundry, vacuuming, dusting, restocking paper products and cleaning supplies
  • Cleaning yogi rooms and common areas at the end of a program and preparing the center for upcoming programs
  • Window washing, indoor painting, and sometimes taking on special projects
  • Groundskeeping, raking, tending the garden, weeding, and snow removal
  • Helping to collect and bring Center recycling to the town transfer station
  • Cleaning kitchen areas/dining room, washing pots and pans, refilling supplies in the pantry

Service Volunteers are community members who freely offer their time and energy to support the center’s operations on an as-needed basis. Service Volunteers often help out for a few hours at a time regularly or semi-regularly, but if you can only come once in a while, that’s fine too. Duties are based on the applicants’ unique skills and interests and can include maintaining the grounds, working in the garden, housekeeping, helping out on opening and closing days, special projects, and/or caring for the books in our library.

Please reach out to contact@buddhistinquiry.org with any questions.

Volunteer Interest Form

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
    We usually give preference to those who have attended a residential program at BCBS.

  • References

    Please provide two references who can attest to your character and work ethic.