The Berkeley Circle
Mission of the Berkeley Circle
The Berkeley Circle is an invitation-only forum hosted by Dharma College in our historic downtown Berkeley building. Conceived as a living space for sustained inquiry and dialogue, the Circle brings together invited voices from contemplative traditions, science, philosophy, the arts, and public life to explore the deeper questions shaping our time.
Created with the support of an initial grant from the Lenz Foundation, the Berkeley Circle was born from a recognition that knowledge alone is no longer enough. We live in a world of accelerating technological change, social fragmentation, ecological uncertainty, and profound questions around consciousness, ethics, and human meaning. The Circle exists to cultivate something equally necessary: wisdom, discernment, reflection, and the capacity to meet complexity with clarity and care.
Rather than a lecture series or academic panel, the Berkeley Circle is a practice of dialogue. Participants gather in an intimate setting to think together, listen deeply, question assumptions, and explore how contemplative insight, scientific understanding, ethical responsibility, and lived experience can inform the future of culture and human life.
Rooted in Dharma College’s commitment to wisdom as a living curriculum, the Circle extends the college’s larger mission of integrating contemplative practice into everyday life. Through conversation, reflection, and shared inquiry, we hope these gatherings become places where genuine encounter can occur and where new understanding can emerge in service of a more compassionate and awake world.
The Purpose of the Berkeley Circle
The Berkeley Circle was created to cultivate thoughtful dialogue across disciplines and lived experience, bringing contemplative insight into conversation with the pressing questions of our time.
Its mission is to:
• Foster meaningful exchange between contemplative traditions, science, philosophy, the arts, and public life
• Create a trusted environment for deep listening, reflection, and inquiry
• Explore wisdom as a practical and developable human capacity
• Encourage forms of knowledge grounded in responsibility, compassion, and care
• Support conversations that can positively inform culture, education, leadership, and community life
The Berkeley Circle is not a lecture series, but an ongoing practice of dialogue where invited participants gather as equals in a shared commitment to inquiry and understanding.
As the Circle evolves, Dharma College welcomes collaboration with patrons and partners who value contemplative inquiry, ethical reflection, and the cultivation of wisdom alongside innovation.
Our hope is that these gatherings generate insights and relationships that extend beyond the room and into the wider world.
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