Volunteer

How Can
I Help?

We invite you to volunteer at our Retreat Center as a Monthly Working Guest or a Daily Volunteer. As a small team, we appreciate any support you can offer.

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 vegetables, fruits, and flowers.

Housekeeping

Help us keep our spaces clean and tidy.

Kitchen

Help us serve delicious meals by providing light meal preparation (e.g., chopping vegetables).

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 garden-level studio apartment on campus furnished with a kitchenette.

Free Programs

We partner with respected and experienced teachers to offer programs that invite deep engagement with Buddhist study and practice across a wide variety of subjects and Buddhist traditions, most of which are suitable for both beginning and experienced practitioners. Participate in one weekend program for free and drop in on other program sessions at the discretion of teachers during your free time.

  • 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 2025 Monthly Working Guest positions. These positions are popular and fill quickly… Submit your application today.

Please also submit the form below if you are interested in being a Daily Volunteer.

Thank you!

Monthly 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.

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 garden-level studio apartment in the farmhouse, comfortably furnished with a full-size bed, closet, desk, two chairs, small couch, bureau, dining area, kitchenette, and bathroom. Your tasks as a monthly working guest will be varied and include maintaining the grounds, working in the garden, housekeeping, food preparation, and re-shelving library books.

Duties typically include:

  • Cleaning kitchen areas, washing pots and pans, organizing supplies in the pantry and refrigerators, unloading delivery trucks, some food preparation, and sometimes filling in for a yogi job

  • Doing laundry as well as stocking paper products and cleaning supplies

  • Cleaning yogi rooms at the end of a program and preparing for upcoming programs

  • Window washing, indoor painting, cleaning common areas, and sometimes taking on special projects

  • Working in the garden, including weeding, planting, and harvesting

  • Lawn care, mowing, raking, tending flower gardens, and/or snow removal 

Daily 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. Occasionally, if we have housing available or there’s a special project going on, daily volunteers will help out for a few days at a time. 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, some light food preparation, and/or caring for the books in our library.

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

Volunteer Interest Form

    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.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Deepening Practice,
Building Community.

Deepening Practice,
Building Community.

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Located in Central Massachusetts

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