Living in Community

Immerse yourself in a supportive community of deep thinkers. Through our various activities and excursions, our ethic of service and collaboration, and our robust student life, you will have the opportunity to experience college residential living and make friends that will last a lifetime.

Residential Life

While in the program, students stay in college dormitories at our Sudhana Center campus in Ukiah, California. Experience the independence of college-living in a safe and supportive environment. In the dorms you will live with other high-school students, as well as RAs. RAs are current DRBU students or alumni with first hand experience of a contemplative, inquiry-based education. They are there to support you and guide you through the program.

Meals

In accordance with the Buddhist principle of respecting all forms of life, we offer wholesome and scrumptious vegetarian meals, skillfully prepared by our professional chefs. We choose healthy and fresh ingredients, promoting more traditional and plant-forward cuisine. We hope that the meals here can help inspire our students to be healthier in body and mind, and learn to love the simplicity of clean and natural ingredients.

Activities and Excursions

We offer daily electives that range from sports and board games to reading groups and creative workshops. In the evening the whole camp comes together for community activities such as theater games, open mic nights, movie nights, etc. On the weekends students take fun day trips to go hike in the redwoods, explore the coast, or visit one of the many beautiful sites in Northern California.

Service

Each day contains time for a service period, where you take on tasks to support and sustain the community. By taking care of your environment and your community you will develop a sense of compassion and social responsibility, while learning important life skills that will serve you in college such as cooking and cleaning.

Teatime

Drawing from Chinese and Japanese tea traditions, teatime is a favorite pastime at DRBU. The brewing and sharing of tea is considered to be a spiritual practice. This is a time to relax, to talk, to explore and integrate what you’re studying and practicing into your daily experience.