In June, 2022, Shaila Catherine joined our Sunday meditation session to speak about the topic of her new book, Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind.
Shaila Catherine is the founder of Bodhi Courses and Insight Meditation South Bay in California. She has taught insight meditation since 1996, drawing inspiration from the Discourses of the Buddha and maintaining an unwavering dedication to awakening. She is known for her expertise in guiding practitioners to cultivate concentration and the deep absorption states of jhāna, and for her enthusiasm for sutta study.
Shaila’s first book Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity, (Wisdom Publications, 2008) introduces concentration practices and the absorption states of jhāna. From 2006–2014 Shaila trained in samādhi and vipassanā under the direction of Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw. She authored Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhanā and Vipassanā (Wisdom Publications, 2011) to help make his traditional approach to meditative training accessible to western practitioners. Her third book, Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind (Wisdom Publications, 2022) shares practical Buddhist strategies for overcoming restlessness and distraction.