About
Sun Camp is an outdoor sleep-away camp for children aged 10 to 16. Founded and run on the Buddhist principles of genuineness and compassion, our campground invites campers to be in the simplicity of living outdoors, awakening each day to a world entirely their own.
At Sun Camp, we prioritize the experience of making friends with yourself, just as you are, and a sense of belonging, often lacking in a fast-paced world. Here, mindfulness provides a space for young people to reconnect with the beauty of living in the present moment and explore their relationship with the natural world.
Our camp community thrives on compassion and collective experiences. We believe that genuine growth blossoms not only from self-exploration but also from the bonds we forge with one another. Every camper is encouraged to extend care and support, creating a nurturing environment where everyone looks out for each other.
Sun Camp embraces a philosophy rooted in Shambhala Buddhist teachings which are both simple and profound. At its core lies the belief in the inherent goodness within everyone. Our camp creates a nurturing environment where campers can explore their inherent goodness, devoid of religious or dogmatic constraints. By providing the space for young people to discover their authentic selves, Sun Camp cultivates the path for them to evolve into self-assured and empathetic adults.
We have three programs that blend together to create an immersive experience: Sun Camp, our week-long program for ages 10 to 16; the Cadet Command Workshop (CCW), a leadership-intensive training for returning participants aged 14 to 16, commencing three days before camp and extending throughout Sun Camp; and the Rites of Warriorship (ROW), a rites of passage program dedicated to 16-year-olds, spanning the two days following camp.
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Sun Camp unfolds in an open field, offering campers a break from their busy lives to experience simple living in nature. Campers live in tents, share chores, and bond with each other. The camp promotes discipline and unity to foster peace and cheerfulness.
Each day includes short meditation sessions, drill practice (marching), hikes, games, classic campfire activities like songs and marshmallow roasting. There is a talent night, and the week ends with a spirited capture-the-flag game, emphasizing teamwork and humor.
Learn more about marching here!
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The philosophy of camp is rooted in the principle of enlightened warriorship. This is the warriorship of genuine non-aggression toward ourselves or others. It centers around the Shambhala teachings that everything in our world and within ourselves is workable, and that we can find joy in the balance of discipline and play. Here, warriorship is the approach of not avoiding aspects of our experience but actively working with them to promote gentleness and sanity.
In this tradition, we co-opt military forms as tools for cultivating compassion and peace, enhancing our ability to be present, aware, and to care for others. Instead of training for war and aggression, we use the military forms of discipline and attention to train our minds, all while not to taking ourselves too seriously. One of our mottos is ‘Victory over War’. And we love to sing: “War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!"
For those aged 14 and older, becoming Cadets and later returning as staff deepens the exploration of these transformative forms.
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The first Shambhala Sun Summer Camp happened at what was then Rocky Mountain Dharma Center (RMDC), now Drala Mountain Center, in Colorado in 1984. It was based on a similar adult program known as “encampment,” created by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, the founder of the Shambhala community. He envisioned a Buddhist "military” and path of service that would adopt the outer appearance of a conventional military—uniforms, marching, hierarchy— not to propagate war, but to “take advantage of the discipline and energy of military forms to embody and communicate compassion.”
The success of this model at camp in Colorado led to another opening at Karmê Chöling in Vermont in 1986. Although the Vertmont camp only ran for about 7 years, another one began near Dorje Denma Ling in Nova Scotia in 1990 and another camp was started at Dechen Chöling in France in 2000.
Sun Camp was originally conceived to serve children growing up in the Shambhala community, but has always been open to the wider community and has appealed to children and families of all backgrounds from the very beginning. It continues as an all-volunteer organization in three countries, almost entirely organized and led by by staff that were once campers themselves.
“Sun Camp has helped me open my mind and realize who I am. In all the chaos of the world, I have realized there are still communities that support each other.”
Maci Johnson