The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is dedicated to bringing together teachers, students, scholars and practitioners who are committed to exploring Buddhist thought and practice as a living tradition, faithful to its origins and lineage, yet adaptable and alive in each new time and place. The Center’s purpose is to provide a bridge between study and practice, between scholarly understanding and meditative insight; it encourages active engagement with the tradition in a spirit of genuine inquiry and investigation.
The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, or more informally, the Study Center, offers a variety of study and research opportunities, lectures, classes, seminars, workshops, conferences, retreats, independent study, and, in the future, a scholars-in-residence program. The Study Center plans to offer research and publication facilities for Buddhist scholarship and translation. Its vision calls for dialogue between different schools of Buddhism, and discussions with other religious and scientific traditions. The emphasis is always on the interrelationship between study and practice, and on exploring the relevance of classical teachings to contemporary life.
Location: The Study Center is located on 90 acres of wooded land in rural, central Massachusetts, one-half mile from Insight Meditation Society. Founded in 1989, the Study Center provides a peaceful and contemplative setting for the study and investigation of the Buddha’s teaching. For many years, it had been a dream of teachers at Insight Meditation Society to complement the silent meditation retreats at IMS with study programs. This vision became a reality with donations enabling the purchase of a 200-year old farmhouse and surrounding forest property. After extensive renovations, there are now residential facilities, a library, offices and a dining room that provide a comfortable setting for students, staff and teachers. A newly completed dormitory and conference/meditation hall provides a space for larger workshops and more course participants.
The Library at the Study Center is a major resource to be used by both students and visitors. Our collection consists of the complete Pali canon in both English and Pali, several hundred volumes on Theravada, Tibetan and Zen Buddhism and variety of journals and newsletters. As part of our vision, we plan to expand our current collection into a respectable research library.
Course and Registration: The Study Center courses offer learning to students with a wide range of exposure to the material taught. If you have questions about a course, please call. Registrations are accepted only by mail or in person. We cannot accept registrations by phone or fax. Early registration is advised since our capacity is limited. Please send the entire course cost as deposit. Upon receipt of your deposit, a confirmation will be mailed to you with information on travel details and what you need to bring. Deposits are fully refundable until 10 days before the start of the course. After that a small processing fee will be charged. If you need to cancel, please do so before the day of the course, otherwise there will be an additional cancellation fee.
DANA (generosity) is intrinsic to the 2,500 year old tradition of Buddha Dharma. Going back to the days of the Buddha, the teachings were considered priceless and thus offered freely. Teacher support comes primarily from the voluntary contributions of students. The registration fee covers the center’s cost of housing the retreat, and a small part of our ongoing expenses.
As another expression of dana, the Study Center makes scholarships available to those who might not be able to attend a course due to financial need. Please contact us if you need financial assistance.
