Every Spring, DRBU students are invited to present their written work or recite memorized texts from their classes in the Student Symposium. This day-long conference fosters student public speaking, scholarship, and insight.
The audience—fellow students, faculty, alumni, and friends of DRBU—are encouraged to raise questions and comments in response to the students’ presentations. To quote Dean of Academics Martin Verhoeven, “Shared inquiry is not complete without inspired sharing.”
Victoria Pang, MA ‘25, shared with us her experience of participating in the symposium:
The Symposium is like a jewel being refined after sedimentation; all the flurry of transformations experienced as a result of deep reading, shared inquiry, and personal cultivation emerge in a unique and personal Symposium presentation. From group classical poetry recitation to humorous reflections on the exact location of the heart, each presentation is as heartfelt as it is eye-opening, and evidence of the interpenetrating effort of professors and students’ conjoined wisdom in the form of creativity and introspection.
In illuminating each individual or group exploration of “truth” and “compassion,” I saw how our paths actually overlapped often and uplifted each other’s inquiries. One student’s reflections on Mencius’ process of contemplation—si—may be elaborated by another’s questions on detecting pride and arrogance. The essence of another student’s speech on bodhisattva vows may be understood better alongside the musical performance of a group chorus singing the Avatamsaka Syllabary. These interweaving conversations map out the expansive web of ideas the campus enriches with one shared inquiry at a time, and is an unforgettable reminder of our shared humanity and the beauty of inquiry.