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Wisdom
Letter from Director<br />
Dear Friend,<br />
At Dharma <strong>College</strong>, our mission is to translate ancient<br />
wisdom into everyday life. Using whatever circumstances<br />
we encounter as an opportunity for growth, we begin<br />
to manifest the extraordinary potential of being. These<br />
uncertain times provide perfect conditions to discover<br />
what is holding us back from an ever-available freedom.<br />
As we come to understand mind and self more deeply,<br />
we can open awareness, engage more closely with<br />
experience, and find a rich source for inner development.<br />
This mission governs all of our work here at the <strong>College</strong>.<br />
As both a place for learning, and a community of those<br />
who share similar interests, Dharma <strong>College</strong> is creating<br />
a vibrant environment, a place for work and serious<br />
inner and outer study.<br />
Inviting wisdom into our lives depends on our taking<br />
the first step when the right conditions arise. We open<br />
our gates to you with the wish that we may take this<br />
journey together.<br />
With all best wishes,<br />
Wangmo Dixey
Ancient Roots — Modern Conditions<br />
Founded by Venerable Tarthang Tulku, one of the first traditionally trained<br />
Tibetan Buddhist masters to settle in America, Dharma <strong>College</strong> is neither<br />
a typical American college nor a traditional Dharma Center. Situated at the<br />
crossroads of Eastern spirituality and Western intellectual pursuits, our<br />
program blends aspects of psychology, philosophy, spirituality and science,<br />
with a focus on practical application in everyday life.<br />
The format of our classes is interactive and discussion-based. Awareness<br />
practices along with contemplations bring balance to the open dialogue, study,<br />
and conceptual inquiry we engage in. Without being subject to dogma or<br />
proselytizing, without long hours of meditation or religious rituals, students<br />
develop a deeper understanding of mind, reality, and self and can effectively<br />
transform their way of being. Dharma <strong>College</strong> is here to serve everyone who is<br />
interested in pursuing inner knowledge and living a more meaningful life.
Start My Journey<br />
Everyday Wellness<br />
Mindful Working<br />
Grounded Living<br />
Clear Understanding<br />
Active Wisdom
We are Unique<br />
Dharma <strong>College</strong> is developing a research unit concerned with neuroscience, virtual<br />
reality, and perception. Plans are being developed to open a Museum of the<br />
Mind on the ground floor to explore how cognition and perception interact.<br />
Recently we entered into collaboration with McGill University to study the<br />
awareness achieved in Jhana states of meditation. Our background in the Tibetan<br />
wisdom tradition and our extensive contacts with Theravadin communities in<br />
Southeast Asia are important assets here. Dharma <strong>College</strong> intends to facilitate<br />
the scientific study of these important states of being. We are also developing<br />
virtual reality programs to explore the rich traditions of inner visualization which<br />
play such an important role in all Buddhist wisdom lineages.<br />
Finally, we have developed a wonderful co-working facility with free classes in<br />
yoga and meditation. Using the ground floor rooms of our landmark building<br />
in downtown Berkeley, with their high ceilings and impressive interiors, we have<br />
created a special workplace for people interested in combining well-being and<br />
meaning in their working lives. The CoWorking With Wisdom workspace provides<br />
members with an enhanced way of working that integrates work and life. Work<br />
can develop our inner self, enhancing and bringing balance to our way of being<br />
in the world.
Pathway to Wisdom<br />
The Dharma <strong>College</strong> curriculum invites you to develop the precious and<br />
rich potential you have for living more deeply. Classes offer a relaxed learning<br />
environment in which all aspects of experience are engaged: mind, body,<br />
language, feeling, sensation, perception, creativity, curiosity, delight. Whatever<br />
you perceive, whatever you feel, whatever you think you know become<br />
valuable parts of a unique wisdom journey.<br />
We offer three distinct programs, each of which is a gateway to transformation.<br />
Whichever program attracts you is the place to begin; whichever engages your<br />
mind and opens your heart, is the right path. They say of the Dharma that it<br />
is “good in the beginning, good in the middle, good at the end.” Our programs<br />
are designed to spark glimpses of insight and caring from the start and all<br />
the way through.
The wisdom we need to<br />
lead a meaningful life.<br />
Mindful<br />
Working<br />
Grounded<br />
Living<br />
Clear<br />
Understanding<br />
Active<br />
Wisdom<br />
Everyday<br />
Wellness
“This class is a heartening combination of the Lotus<br />
Healing practices and up-to-date Covid 19 science as<br />
only the insiders know it. These three generous doctors<br />
clarify the research, and answer our questions in a most<br />
companionable way.” — Dharma <strong>College</strong> Student<br />
Everyday Wellness,<br />
Perfecting good health with balance<br />
Integrating attention to health is key to our overall well being. At Dharma<br />
<strong>College</strong>, we are committed to finding the most innovative ways for our students<br />
to keep healthy with doctors who care. We offer classes on promoting inner<br />
resilience especially during COVID period.<br />
We also have a Nourish Me program which invites you to join us for beautiful<br />
vegetarian lunches at Dharma <strong>College</strong> where all ingredients are sourced from<br />
some of the best local produce in the Bay Area. We also offer classes in body<br />
movement.
“I loved the ease and simplicity of the course and the<br />
way it was taught it. It was manageable, even with my<br />
busy schedule, and I’m already applying the teachings<br />
to my daily life.”<br />
Mindful Working,<br />
Learn methods for bringing life to work<br />
Work can be more than mere livelihood. For the modern professional, it’s a<br />
chance to grow and learn more about ourselves. It can be a way to develop positive<br />
and healthy relationships. This program explores the many ways to bring<br />
awareness, concentration, and energy to everything we do. You may discover<br />
that devoting care to your work and improving your appreciation of life may be<br />
more similar than you think.
Some courses that you might enjoy:<br />
28 Day Skillful Means Challenge:<br />
Set priorities with more intention. For one month, we’ll meet for just 30 minutes<br />
each weekday to help bring clarity to each participant’s specific goals. This class<br />
aims to build daily balance and transform work into a spiritual practice.<br />
Meditate: 3 Minutes is Enough<br />
One does not need to sit for hours upon end to develop stability of mind. In this<br />
class, we’ll learn to generate insight through a concise, daily meditation practice.<br />
Mastering Successful Work<br />
Executive leaders will learn to re-define their organization’s direction, aligning<br />
vision with practical execution. Each class introduces tools for effective strategy<br />
and execution.<br />
Right Livelihood<br />
Discover ways to earn a living while staying true to a spiritual path. Classes<br />
explore how our job can be an expression of our deepest self. This translates the<br />
Dharma into relevance for any modern professional.
✭✭✭✭✭<br />
“The place is nearly too good to be true…”<br />
“I can’t imagine a more perfect work scenario…”<br />
✭✭✭✭✭<br />
Coworking With Wisdom<br />
The Co-working with Wisdom program grows out of Dharma <strong>College</strong>’s mission<br />
to make the teachings of the Buddhist wisdom tradition available to modern<br />
society in new and innovative ways. It expresses an approach known as Skillful<br />
Means, which uses the challenges of work for spiritual insight and individual<br />
growth, for the benefit of ourselves and others.<br />
We are the opposite of work burn out. What if you could have the best productivity,<br />
mindfulness, and wellness classes right at your fingertips? What if the best<br />
stress management, success, and time management methods were a part of your<br />
regular workday? Just think: How much more work could you get done?
“I can see how I can become a more extraordinary<br />
human by watching my mind in a way I did not have<br />
access to before.” — Dharma <strong>College</strong> Student<br />
Grounded Living Program,<br />
Begin developing practices for inner harmony<br />
Discover how to find ease, joy, and compassion in everyday life. Through experiential<br />
practices for body and mind, you’ll develop tools for relating more<br />
harmoniously to yourself and others. As you build these inner resources, each<br />
aspect of your own experience becomes the canvas on which you paint. Your<br />
senses expand, your awareness increases.<br />
Each six week course meets one-hour each week. While new students can join<br />
any term, there is a natural progression from the first to last course. Classes are<br />
discussion and practice-oriented. While we’ll reference texts during class, extensive<br />
at-home reading is not necessary.<br />
1. Balance, Self-Care, and the Healing Power of Ease<br />
2. Heart Teachings for Everyday Life<br />
3. The Joy of Feeling and Sensing <br />
4. Discovering Mind<br />
5. Transforming the ‘Story of 'Me'<br />
6. Letting go<br />
“We have the ability to choose how we would like to manifest: we can shift<br />
freely back and forth; we can be angry, confused or joyful — whatever<br />
we would like to be. This is genuine creativity, through which we shape<br />
our world.” — Openness Mind, 63
Grounded Living<br />
Begin developing practices<br />
for inner harmony<br />
Mindful Working<br />
Learn methods for bringing<br />
life to work<br />
Clear Understanding<br />
Begin developing practices for<br />
inner harmony<br />
Active Wisdom<br />
Unfolding body, language,<br />
and mind<br />
Everyday Wellness<br />
Perfecting good health<br />
with balance
Clear Understanding,<br />
Waking up to the revelation of mind<br />
A series of six courses. Each course consists of six weekly 90 minute online<br />
classes and additional self-directed study and exercises.We read a lot about<br />
going beyond concept, being non-dual, engaging with the ultimate, but what<br />
do these words mean? Our problems begin immediately. All of our attempts to<br />
communicate any insight or describe any state thrust us into conceptual duality,<br />
the very duality we wish to escape. This reveals the paradox of the spiritual path.<br />
The limitless horizon we seek must necessarily be beyond our reach; the qualities<br />
we aspire to must necessarily be beyond all characteristics.
“Clarity arises through observing mind. Observing<br />
the mechanisms of mind, seeing how they operate,<br />
what calms and what agitates them, leads to a potent<br />
understanding of mind’s nature.”<br />
— Tarthang Tulku<br />
“I’ve studied Buddhism for 45 years. These classes<br />
have created openings to directly experience<br />
teachings that have been previously only theoretical<br />
and fleeting. I connect more deeply with my<br />
meditation practices now, more than ever.”<br />
— Dharma <strong>College</strong> Student<br />
One path through this difficulty is to generate an understanding of the<br />
conceptual activity of mind. Once we understand the reason for our reactive<br />
conceptuality, and why it pervades from moment to moment both our<br />
inner narratives and the outer world of things, such an understanding itself<br />
reveals what we otherwise miss: the center of experience itself. We can<br />
never locate such a center- for our very searching leads straight to the conceptual.<br />
What cannot be seen can, however, be found, for it is revealed once<br />
the all-encompassing display of mind is fully appreciated.
Active Wisdom,<br />
Unfolding body, language, and mind<br />
The Lotus Trilogy program explores the extraordinary potential<br />
of body, language and mind to unfold, like the petals of a lotus,<br />
to reveal the beauty within. Through inquiry, dialogue, and<br />
experiential exercises, ordinary assumptions about time,space,<br />
matter, language, and mind are thoroughly investigated in<br />
a playful and accessible way. The heart of being may be an<br />
open field.<br />
For wisdom, we need experience, blessings,<br />
and a thorough explanation of mind.
Lotus Body<br />
Lotus Body classes consider the relationship of<br />
matter, space and time, and begin to loosen the<br />
assumptions we have about the separation between<br />
us. As we open borders, our hearts, too, open,<br />
and inner and outer connections are revealed.<br />
“Every being is interconnected, implicated.<br />
Every action is important and every<br />
contribution precious.” — Lotus Body, 194<br />
Lotus Language<br />
We investigate the role of language and meaning<br />
in human experience. Constrained in our<br />
understanding of our inner being by the structure<br />
of language, the ways we think, work, live, and<br />
love, are limited. Knowing differently, these can<br />
be transformed.<br />
“Tutored by the spirit of language, mind finds<br />
a voice...In this way, we make reality; for<br />
reality as a concept owes its existence to the<br />
language frame, and language’s labels give<br />
our journey meaning.”<br />
— Lotus Language, XXXII–XXXIII<br />
Lotus Mind<br />
A lack of inner harmony and a dissatisfaction<br />
with life frequently arise from not understanding<br />
the true nature of mind. Inside every human<br />
being is the capacity to fully develop our abundant<br />
human potential. Can we tap the source?<br />
“True wisdom is manifested by each being’s<br />
activity. It is new and irreplaceable, a contribution<br />
to the general fund. When we conduct<br />
knowledge ourselves, creating a fresh performance,<br />
we give it life, and it gives life to others.”<br />
— Lotus Mind, 193
“The study of the regime of mind was thorough,<br />
and now we are learning how to live in the very<br />
beautiful direct experience, very different from the<br />
regime. This course is very important to learn in<br />
this changing world.” — Dharma <strong>College</strong> Student<br />
Dharma <strong>College</strong> Courses<br />
Six week terms begin throughout the year. Courses are offered at convenient<br />
times during the week and on weekends. For full course descriptions, current<br />
costs, and the schedule of upcoming weekly courses and events, or for<br />
information about how to enroll, see the insert to this brochure or visit our<br />
website at www.dharma-college.com. To ensure a place in the class of your<br />
choice, pre-registration is strongly encouraged.<br />
“The teachings and discussions have profoundly increased my understanding<br />
of the conscious workings of my mind in an experiential way. Moreover, the<br />
experience of mind beyond thought is becoming an increasing reality.”<br />
— Dharma <strong>College</strong> Student
Executive Director<br />
Wangmo Dixey (Executive Director), born in Berkeley,<br />
California, in 1969, is the eldest daughter of Venerable<br />
Tarthang Tulku. In addition to her role to as Director of<br />
the <strong>College</strong>, she is Executive Director of the Light of<br />
Buddhadharma Foundation International and President<br />
of the International Buddhist Association of America.<br />
She has been awarded many international accolades for<br />
her work in Asia. She holds a BA in International Relations<br />
from UCLA and an MA in International Development<br />
from American University. Married to Dr. Richard Dixey,<br />
she has two children.
Instructors<br />
Richard Dixey (Instructor) holds a Ph.D. from London<br />
University, an M.A. with distinction in the history and<br />
philosophy of science from London University, and a B.A.<br />
Hons from Oxford. He was director of the Bioelectronic<br />
Research Unit at St Bartholomew's hospital in London for<br />
fourteen years before founding and becoming the Chief<br />
Executive of Phytopharm PLC, a biotechnology company<br />
listed on the London Stock Exchange. Richard has been<br />
a student of Buddhism since 1972 and has traveled extensively<br />
in the Himalayas, India and South East Asia. He<br />
is currently an advisor to the Khyentse Foundation.<br />
Abbe Blum (Instructor) holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley,<br />
an M.A. from Cambridge University in England, where<br />
she was a Marshall scholar, and a Ph.D. in English<br />
literature from Yale University. As an Associate Professor<br />
at Swarthmore <strong>College</strong>, she taught Shakespeare and<br />
intensive writing seminars. She currently teaches in the<br />
School of Psychology and Interdisciplinary Inquiry<br />
at Saybrook University. She has been studying Buddhism<br />
since the 1970’s, and has taught at various TNMC locations<br />
since 1998.<br />
Robin Caton (Instructor) holds a J.D. from the University<br />
of Michigan and an MFA in creative writing from Saint<br />
Mary's <strong>College</strong> of California. She is an attorney, poet<br />
and teacher who has studied Buddhism for many years,<br />
both at the Nyingma Institute and under the direction<br />
of Founding Head Lama Tarthang Tulku. Her published<br />
works include a volume of poetry, The Color of Dusk.<br />
Robin was the Director of Dharma <strong>College</strong> from 2010<br />
to 2017.
Associate Instructors<br />
Teri Beckman (Associate Instructor) leads HIGOL, a boutique<br />
coaching and consulting company that works with<br />
mission-driven leaders to help them increase their community<br />
impact and revenue within their organizations<br />
by aligning their human, technical, financial resources<br />
with their vision. She has studied and practiced Skillful<br />
Means and Buddhist psychology as presented by Tarthang<br />
Tulku for thirty years. She has a Master’s Degree in City<br />
and Regional Planning from the University of Chapel Hill<br />
and is a graduate of the Body Therapy Institute, Spirit of<br />
Learning Teacher Training.<br />
Bob Dozor (Associate Instructor) is the Medical Director<br />
of the Integrative Medical Clinic of Santa Rosa and the<br />
Nyingma Senior Retreat Center at Ratna Ling. He holds<br />
a B.A. from the University of Chicago in the history and<br />
philosophy of science and an M.D. from the University of<br />
California, San Francisco. He has been a student of Buddhism<br />
since the 1960’s and a student of Venerable Tarthang<br />
Tulku since 1972.<br />
Jonathan Clewley (Associate Instructor) was educated at<br />
the Universities of Sussex (BSc), London (MSc), and Warwick<br />
(PhD); and pursued a career as a Clinical Scientist<br />
and Virologist at a public health laboratory in London.<br />
He has a lifelong interest in arcane and spiritual knowledge,<br />
especially Buddhism, coming to Venerable Tarthang<br />
Tulku’s teachings through the practice of Kum Nye. As he<br />
lives in England, he has been taking online
Richard Kingsland (Associate Instructor), holds a B.A. from<br />
Stanford University, an M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology<br />
from the University of California, Davis, and an M.D.<br />
with honors from the University of Illinois, Chicago. He<br />
completed a residency in Emergency Medicine from the<br />
University of California, San Diego, and served as an<br />
emergency physician in San Diego County for many years.<br />
He has traveled frequently to India and Nepal and has<br />
been a student of Venerable Tarthang Tulku since 1970.<br />
Ron Purser, Ph.D. (Associate Instructor) is a Professor of<br />
Management at San Francisco State University. Author<br />
of eight books, including McMindfulness: How Mindfulness<br />
Became the New Capitalist Spirituality (Penguin<br />
Random House/Repeater Books), the Handbook of the<br />
Ethical Foundations of Mindfulness and the Handbook<br />
of Mindfulness: Culture, Context and Social Engagement<br />
(Springer). He writes for such media outlets as Tricycle,<br />
The Guardian, Salon, Alternet, Tikkun, Pando Daily and<br />
Transformation. He began studying Time, Space and<br />
Knowledge (TSK) in 1982.
“Body, language, and mind are the vehicles for<br />
our journey toward liberation. Each is a lotus,<br />
emerging pure and beautiful from the muddy waters<br />
of our experience.” — Tarthang Tulku<br />
Institutional Partnerships<br />
We are keen on developing institutional partnerships with like-minded<br />
organizations who see an investment in exploring mind and self. Our wish<br />
is to find compelling ways to gain deeper knowledge and develop new<br />
modes of understanding of both ourselves and those around us, leading to<br />
a balanced, harmonious and more fulfilling life.<br />
We believe that carrying out this mission in the West offers the potential to<br />
create powerful new forms of knowledge and manifest the full potentiality<br />
of being human.
Annual Dharma <strong>College</strong> Retreat<br />
Our annual Dharma <strong>College</strong> Annual retreat brings together all our senior<br />
teachers and presents wonderful, rich teachings from Revelations of Mind,<br />
Lotus Trilogy and other texts. Why not give yourself the precious gift of<br />
inner wisdom today — if not now, when?<br />
“I don’t quite know how to describe it other than to say, something seems to<br />
have changed in my psychology — and my world, as you foretold us, seems to<br />
have changed as well. Where is the irritation gone? Yes, I am hijacked here<br />
and there, but I can hardly believe how quickly and, rather without much<br />
effort, I am able to free myself of the dis-ease.” — Dharma <strong>College</strong> Student
Contact<br />
We are located in the heart of<br />
downtown Berkeley, just one block<br />
from Berkeley BART and steps<br />
away from secure public parking<br />
at either 2061-Allston Way or<br />
2020 Kittredge St., both open from<br />
6 am to midnight seven days a week.<br />
<strong>22</strong><strong>22</strong> Harold Way<br />
Berkeley, CA 94704<br />
510.809.2010<br />
dharma-college.com
<strong>22</strong><strong>22</strong> Harold Way<br />
Berkeley, CA 94704<br />
Nonprofit<br />
Organization U.S.<br />
Postage PAID<br />
Berkeley, CA<br />
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Our work is based on a long and<br />
profound tradition of guided<br />
self-investigation leading to wisdom,<br />
compassion, and a meaningful<br />
life. We believe that this work has<br />
the potential for being profoundly<br />
important, not simply in making<br />
individual lives better, but also in<br />
addressing our society’s ills.<br />
Putting powerful teachings<br />
into secular language and through<br />
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