Dharma College Brochure

Reimagine
Wisdom

Letter from Director
Dear Friend,
At Dharma College, our mission is to translate ancient
wisdom into everyday life. Using whatever circumstances
we encounter as an opportunity for growth, we begin
to manifest the extraordinary potential of being. These
uncertain times provide perfect conditions to discover
what is holding us back from an ever-available freedom.
As we come to understand mind and self more deeply,
we can open awareness, engage more closely with
experience, and find a rich source for inner development.
This mission governs all of our work here at the College.
As both a place for learning, and a community of those
who share similar interests, Dharma College is creating
a vibrant environment, a place for work and serious
inner and outer study.
Inviting wisdom into our lives depends on our taking
the first step when the right conditions arise. We open
our gates to you with the wish that we may take this
journey together.
With all best wishes,
Wangmo Dixey

Ancient Roots — Modern Conditions
Founded by Venerable Tarthang Tulku, one of the first traditionally trained
Tibetan Buddhist masters to settle in America, Dharma College is neither
a typical American college nor a traditional Dharma Center. Situated at the
crossroads of Eastern spirituality and Western intellectual pursuits, our
program blends aspects of psychology, philosophy, spirituality and science,
with a focus on practical application in everyday life.
The format of our classes is interactive and discussion-based. Awareness
practices along with contemplations bring balance to the open dialogue, study,
and conceptual inquiry we engage in. Without being subject to dogma or
proselytizing, without long hours of meditation or religious rituals, students
develop a deeper understanding of mind, reality, and self and can effectively
transform their way of being. Dharma College is here to serve everyone who is
interested in pursuing inner knowledge and living a more meaningful life.

Start My Journey
Everyday Wellness
Mindful Working
Grounded Living
Clear Understanding
Active Wisdom

We are Unique
Dharma College is developing a research unit concerned with neuroscience, virtual
reality, and perception. Plans are being developed to open a Museum of the
Mind on the ground floor to explore how cognition and perception interact.
Recently we entered into collaboration with McGill University to study the
awareness achieved in Jhana states of meditation. Our background in the Tibetan
wisdom tradition and our extensive contacts with Theravadin communities in
Southeast Asia are important assets here. Dharma College intends to facilitate
the scientific study of these important states of being. We are also developing
virtual reality programs to explore the rich traditions of inner visualization which
play such an important role in all Buddhist wisdom lineages.
Finally, we have developed a wonderful co-working facility with free classes in
yoga and meditation. Using the ground floor rooms of our landmark building
in downtown Berkeley, with their high ceilings and impressive interiors, we have
created a special workplace for people interested in combining well-being and
meaning in their working lives. The CoWorking With Wisdom workspace provides
members with an enhanced way of working that integrates work and life. Work
can develop our inner self, enhancing and bringing balance to our way of being
in the world.

Pathway to Wisdom
The Dharma College curriculum invites you to develop the precious and
rich potential you have for living more deeply. Classes offer a relaxed learning
environment in which all aspects of experience are engaged: mind, body,
language, feeling, sensation, perception, creativity, curiosity, delight. Whatever
you perceive, whatever you feel, whatever you think you know become
valuable parts of a unique wisdom journey.
We offer three distinct programs, each of which is a gateway to transformation.
Whichever program attracts you is the place to begin; whichever engages your
mind and opens your heart, is the right path. They say of the Dharma that it
is “good in the beginning, good in the middle, good at the end.” Our programs
are designed to spark glimpses of insight and caring from the start and all
the way through.

The wisdom we need to
lead a meaningful life.
Mindful
Working
Grounded
Living
Clear
Understanding
Active
Wisdom
Everyday
Wellness

“This class is a heartening combination of the Lotus
Healing practices and up-to-date Covid 19 science as
only the insiders know it. These three generous doctors
clarify the research, and answer our questions in a most
companionable way.” — Dharma College Student
Everyday Wellness,
Perfecting good health with balance
Integrating attention to health is key to our overall well being. At Dharma
College, we are committed to finding the most innovative ways for our students
to keep healthy with doctors who care. We offer classes on promoting inner
resilience especially during COVID period.
We also have a Nourish Me program which invites you to join us for beautiful
vegetarian lunches at Dharma College where all ingredients are sourced from
some of the best local produce in the Bay Area. We also offer classes in body
movement.

“I loved the ease and simplicity of the course and the
way it was taught it. It was manageable, even with my
busy schedule, and I’m already applying the teachings
to my daily life.”
Mindful Working,
Learn methods for bringing life to work
Work can be more than mere livelihood. For the modern professional, it’s a
chance to grow and learn more about ourselves. It can be a way to develop positive
and healthy relationships. This program explores the many ways to bring
awareness, concentration, and energy to everything we do. You may discover
that devoting care to your work and improving your appreciation of life may be
more similar than you think.

Some courses that you might enjoy:
28 Day Skillful Means Challenge:
Set priorities with more intention. For one month, we’ll meet for just 30 minutes
each weekday to help bring clarity to each participant’s specific goals. This class
aims to build daily balance and transform work into a spiritual practice.
Meditate: 3 Minutes is Enough
One does not need to sit for hours upon end to develop stability of mind. In this
class, we’ll learn to generate insight through a concise, daily meditation practice.
Mastering Successful Work
Executive leaders will learn to re-define their organization’s direction, aligning
vision with practical execution. Each class introduces tools for effective strategy
and execution.
Right Livelihood
Discover ways to earn a living while staying true to a spiritual path. Classes
explore how our job can be an expression of our deepest self. This translates the
Dharma into relevance for any modern professional.

✭✭✭✭✭
“The place is nearly too good to be true…”
“I can’t imagine a more perfect work scenario…”
✭✭✭✭✭
Coworking With Wisdom
The Co-working with Wisdom program grows out of Dharma College’s mission
to make the teachings of the Buddhist wisdom tradition available to modern
society in new and innovative ways. It expresses an approach known as Skillful
Means, which uses the challenges of work for spiritual insight and individual
growth, for the benefit of ourselves and others.
We are the opposite of work burn out. What if you could have the best productivity,
mindfulness, and wellness classes right at your fingertips? What if the best
stress management, success, and time management methods were a part of your
regular workday? Just think: How much more work could you get done?

“I can see how I can become a more extraordinary
human by watching my mind in a way I did not have
access to before.” — Dharma College Student
Grounded Living Program,
Begin developing practices for inner harmony
Discover how to find ease, joy, and compassion in everyday life. Through experiential
practices for body and mind, you’ll develop tools for relating more
harmoniously to yourself and others. As you build these inner resources, each
aspect of your own experience becomes the canvas on which you paint. Your
senses expand, your awareness increases.
Each six week course meets one-hour each week. While new students can join
any term, there is a natural progression from the first to last course. Classes are
discussion and practice-oriented. While we’ll reference texts during class, extensive
at-home reading is not necessary.
1. Balance, Self-Care, and the Healing Power of Ease
2. Heart Teachings for Everyday Life
3. The Joy of Feeling and Sensing
4. Discovering Mind
5. Transforming the ‘Story of 'Me'
6. Letting go
“We have the ability to choose how we would like to manifest: we can shift
freely back and forth; we can be angry, confused or joyful — whatever
we would like to be. This is genuine creativity, through which we shape
our world.” — Openness Mind, 63

Grounded Living
Begin developing practices
for inner harmony
Mindful Working
Learn methods for bringing
life to work
Clear Understanding
Begin developing practices for
inner harmony
Active Wisdom
Unfolding body, language,
and mind
Everyday Wellness
Perfecting good health
with balance

Clear Understanding,
Waking up to the revelation of mind
A series of six courses. Each course consists of six weekly 90 minute online
classes and additional self-directed study and exercises.We read a lot about
going beyond concept, being non-dual, engaging with the ultimate, but what
do these words mean? Our problems begin immediately. All of our attempts to
communicate any insight or describe any state thrust us into conceptual duality,
the very duality we wish to escape. This reveals the paradox of the spiritual path.
The limitless horizon we seek must necessarily be beyond our reach; the qualities
we aspire to must necessarily be beyond all characteristics.

“Clarity arises through observing mind. Observing
the mechanisms of mind, seeing how they operate,
what calms and what agitates them, leads to a potent
understanding of mind’s nature.”
— Tarthang Tulku
“I’ve studied Buddhism for 45 years. These classes
have created openings to directly experience
teachings that have been previously only theoretical
and fleeting. I connect more deeply with my
meditation practices now, more than ever.”
— Dharma College Student
One path through this difficulty is to generate an understanding of the
conceptual activity of mind. Once we understand the reason for our reactive
conceptuality, and why it pervades from moment to moment both our
inner narratives and the outer world of things, such an understanding itself
reveals what we otherwise miss: the center of experience itself. We can
never locate such a center- for our very searching leads straight to the conceptual.
What cannot be seen can, however, be found, for it is revealed once
the all-encompassing display of mind is fully appreciated.

Active Wisdom,
Unfolding body, language, and mind
The Lotus Trilogy program explores the extraordinary potential
of body, language and mind to unfold, like the petals of a lotus,
to reveal the beauty within. Through inquiry, dialogue, and
experiential exercises, ordinary assumptions about time,space,
matter, language, and mind are thoroughly investigated in
a playful and accessible way. The heart of being may be an
open field.
For wisdom, we need experience, blessings,
and a thorough explanation of mind.

Lotus Body
Lotus Body classes consider the relationship of
matter, space and time, and begin to loosen the
assumptions we have about the separation between
us. As we open borders, our hearts, too, open,
and inner and outer connections are revealed.
“Every being is interconnected, implicated.
Every action is important and every
contribution precious.” — Lotus Body, 194
Lotus Language
We investigate the role of language and meaning
in human experience. Constrained in our
understanding of our inner being by the structure
of language, the ways we think, work, live, and
love, are limited. Knowing differently, these can
be transformed.
“Tutored by the spirit of language, mind finds
a voice...In this way, we make reality; for
reality as a concept owes its existence to the
language frame, and language’s labels give
our journey meaning.”
— Lotus Language, XXXII–XXXIII
Lotus Mind
A lack of inner harmony and a dissatisfaction
with life frequently arise from not understanding
the true nature of mind. Inside every human
being is the capacity to fully develop our abundant
human potential. Can we tap the source?
“True wisdom is manifested by each being’s
activity. It is new and irreplaceable, a contribution
to the general fund. When we conduct
knowledge ourselves, creating a fresh performance,
we give it life, and it gives life to others.”
— Lotus Mind, 193

“The study of the regime of mind was thorough,
and now we are learning how to live in the very
beautiful direct experience, very different from the
regime. This course is very important to learn in
this changing world.” — Dharma College Student
Dharma College Courses
Six week terms begin throughout the year. Courses are offered at convenient
times during the week and on weekends. For full course descriptions, current
costs, and the schedule of upcoming weekly courses and events, or for
information about how to enroll, see the insert to this brochure or visit our
website at www.dharma-college.com. To ensure a place in the class of your
choice, pre-registration is strongly encouraged.
“The teachings and discussions have profoundly increased my understanding
of the conscious workings of my mind in an experiential way. Moreover, the
experience of mind beyond thought is becoming an increasing reality.”
— Dharma College Student

Executive Director
Wangmo Dixey (Executive Director), born in Berkeley,
California, in 1969, is the eldest daughter of Venerable
Tarthang Tulku. In addition to her role to as Director of
the College, she is Executive Director of the Light of
Buddhadharma Foundation International and President
of the International Buddhist Association of America.
She has been awarded many international accolades for
her work in Asia. She holds a BA in International Relations
from UCLA and an MA in International Development
from American University. Married to Dr. Richard Dixey,
she has two children.

Instructors
Richard Dixey (Instructor) holds a Ph.D. from London
University, an M.A. with distinction in the history and
philosophy of science from London University, and a B.A.
Hons from Oxford. He was director of the Bioelectronic
Research Unit at St Bartholomew's hospital in London for
fourteen years before founding and becoming the Chief
Executive of Phytopharm PLC, a biotechnology company
listed on the London Stock Exchange. Richard has been
a student of Buddhism since 1972 and has traveled extensively
in the Himalayas, India and South East Asia. He
is currently an advisor to the Khyentse Foundation.
Abbe Blum (Instructor) holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley,
an M.A. from Cambridge University in England, where
she was a Marshall scholar, and a Ph.D. in English
literature from Yale University. As an Associate Professor
at Swarthmore College, she taught Shakespeare and
intensive writing seminars. She currently teaches in the
School of Psychology and Interdisciplinary Inquiry
at Saybrook University. She has been studying Buddhism
since the 1970’s, and has taught at various TNMC locations
since 1998.
Robin Caton (Instructor) holds a J.D. from the University
of Michigan and an MFA in creative writing from Saint
Mary's College of California. She is an attorney, poet
and teacher who has studied Buddhism for many years,
both at the Nyingma Institute and under the direction
of Founding Head Lama Tarthang Tulku. Her published
works include a volume of poetry, The Color of Dusk.
Robin was the Director of Dharma College from 2010
to 2017.

Associate Instructors
Teri Beckman (Associate Instructor) leads HIGOL, a boutique
coaching and consulting company that works with
mission-driven leaders to help them increase their community
impact and revenue within their organizations
by aligning their human, technical, financial resources
with their vision. She has studied and practiced Skillful
Means and Buddhist psychology as presented by Tarthang
Tulku for thirty years. She has a Master’s Degree in City
and Regional Planning from the University of Chapel Hill
and is a graduate of the Body Therapy Institute, Spirit of
Learning Teacher Training.
Bob Dozor (Associate Instructor) is the Medical Director
of the Integrative Medical Clinic of Santa Rosa and the
Nyingma Senior Retreat Center at Ratna Ling. He holds
a B.A. from the University of Chicago in the history and
philosophy of science and an M.D. from the University of
California, San Francisco. He has been a student of Buddhism
since the 1960’s and a student of Venerable Tarthang
Tulku since 1972.
Jonathan Clewley (Associate Instructor) was educated at
the Universities of Sussex (BSc), London (MSc), and Warwick
(PhD); and pursued a career as a Clinical Scientist
and Virologist at a public health laboratory in London.
He has a lifelong interest in arcane and spiritual knowledge,
especially Buddhism, coming to Venerable Tarthang
Tulku’s teachings through the practice of Kum Nye. As he
lives in England, he has been taking online

Richard Kingsland (Associate Instructor), holds a B.A. from
Stanford University, an M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology
from the University of California, Davis, and an M.D.
with honors from the University of Illinois, Chicago. He
completed a residency in Emergency Medicine from the
University of California, San Diego, and served as an
emergency physician in San Diego County for many years.
He has traveled frequently to India and Nepal and has
been a student of Venerable Tarthang Tulku since 1970.
Ron Purser, Ph.D. (Associate Instructor) is a Professor of
Management at San Francisco State University. Author
of eight books, including McMindfulness: How Mindfulness
Became the New Capitalist Spirituality (Penguin
Random House/Repeater Books), the Handbook of the
Ethical Foundations of Mindfulness and the Handbook
of Mindfulness: Culture, Context and Social Engagement
(Springer). He writes for such media outlets as Tricycle,
The Guardian, Salon, Alternet, Tikkun, Pando Daily and
Transformation. He began studying Time, Space and
Knowledge (TSK) in 1982.

“Body, language, and mind are the vehicles for
our journey toward liberation. Each is a lotus,
emerging pure and beautiful from the muddy waters
of our experience.” — Tarthang Tulku
Institutional Partnerships
We are keen on developing institutional partnerships with like-minded
organizations who see an investment in exploring mind and self. Our wish
is to find compelling ways to gain deeper knowledge and develop new
modes of understanding of both ourselves and those around us, leading to
a balanced, harmonious and more fulfilling life.
We believe that carrying out this mission in the West offers the potential to
create powerful new forms of knowledge and manifest the full potentiality
of being human.

Annual Dharma College Retreat
Our annual Dharma College Annual retreat brings together all our senior
teachers and presents wonderful, rich teachings from Revelations of Mind,
Lotus Trilogy and other texts. Why not give yourself the precious gift of
inner wisdom today — if not now, when?
“I don’t quite know how to describe it other than to say, something seems to
have changed in my psychology — and my world, as you foretold us, seems to
have changed as well. Where is the irritation gone? Yes, I am hijacked here
and there, but I can hardly believe how quickly and, rather without much
effort, I am able to free myself of the dis-ease.” — Dharma College Student

Contact
We are located in the heart of
downtown Berkeley, just one block
from Berkeley BART and steps
away from secure public parking
at either 2061-Allston Way or
2020 Kittredge St., both open from
6 am to midnight seven days a week.
2222 Harold Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
510.809.2010
dharma-college.com

2222 Harold Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
Nonprofit
Organization U.S.
Postage PAID
Berkeley, CA
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Our work is based on a long and
profound tradition of guided
self-investigation leading to wisdom,
compassion, and a meaningful
life. We believe that this work has
the potential for being profoundly
important, not simply in making
individual lives better, but also in
addressing our society’s ills.
Putting powerful teachings
into secular language and through
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