“Attention is not developed by riveting the attention to the breath with super glue or hammering it into the nostrils with nails. Attention becomes unwavering by the consistent willingness to gently begin again.”

— Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity

We warmly invites you to join renowned teacher Shaila Catherine for an evening of guided meditation and an insightful Dhamma talk on ‘Protecting the Mind’.

Shaila Catherine: Guiding Minds to Stillness and Insight

Shaila Catherine is a Buddhist meditation teacher and author, renowned for her expertise in deep concentration (jhāna) and insight (vipassanā) practices. With a meditation journey that began in 1980, she has dedicated over nine years to silent retreats, reflecting her profound commitment to the Dhamma.

In 2006, Shaila founded Insight Meditation South Bay (IMSB) in Silicon Valley, creating a community centered on mindfulness, compassion, and wisdom. She also established Bodhi Courses, an online platform extending Dhamma teachings to a global audience.

Her literary contributions include three influential books:

• The Jhānas: A Practical Guide to Deep Meditative States (originally Focused and Fearless): An introduction to deep concentration practices and the absorption states of jhāna.

• Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhāna and Vipassanā: A comprehensive guide making traditional meditative training accessible to Western practitioners.

• Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind: Offers practical Buddhist strategies for overcoming restlessness and distraction.

Topic: Protecting the Mind

The encounter with sensory experiences can lead to insight and calm, or reactivity and suffering. How do you guard your mind in the midst of a daily barrage of sensory input? How do you protect your mind so that tranquility and wisdom will be well established? The Buddha encouraged restraint of the senses, but this restraint does not require avoidance of sensory contacts or control of the external environment. In this talk, Shaila Catherine will describe how mindfulness allows us to meet the experiences of sensory contact — of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and thinking with a mind free of reactivity.

Mindfulness protects the mind so that it does not come under the sway of defilements. Mindfulness is a special quality of attention that is balanced in the moment of observing experience. Before looking, before reaching, before speaking, before any activity, we can establish the intention of mindfully meeting the experience without giving rise to anger, irritation, lust, fear, or any defilement. The practice of sensory restraint leads to a life of happiness and joy, and lays the foundation for experiences of deep concentration and awakening.

How to join?

To participate in this Dhamma Sharing please register using the form. The Zoom login details and any additional information will be emailed to the email address you provide during registration.

Date & Time:
Friday, April 4, 2025

Event Time:

• United Kingdom (GMT): 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
• Pacific Time (PDT): 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
• Mountain Time (MDT): 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
• Central Time (CDT): 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
• Eastern Time (EDT): 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
• Central European Time (CET): 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM
• India Standard Time (IST): 12:30 AM – 2:00 AM (next day)
• Sri Lanka Standard Time (SLST): 12:30 AM – 2:00 AM (next day)
• Australia Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT): 6:00 AM – 7:30 AM (next day)

For more details on teachings, courses and retreats offered by Shaila Catherine, please visit www.https://www.imsb.org

“Emotions are dynamic processes that are in a state of flux. If you don’t refuel them through obsessive thinking, they will change and fade.”

— Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity
“You can save yourself a lot of anguish by investigating your response to the fundamental qualities of pleasure and pain.”

— Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity
“Once you achieve the certainty that happiness will not be found by getting more sensory pleasures or thinking more interesting thoughts, your commitment to inner exploration will deepen.”

— The Jhānas: A Practical Guide to Deep Meditative States
“The problem with planning isn’t just that it agitates the mind, but that it disguises the basic characteristics of existence to which we want to awaken: impermanence, suffering, and not-self.”

— Planning and the Busy Mind, transcript

“Attention is not developed by riveting the attention to the breath with super glue or hammering it into the nostrils with nails. Attention becomes unwavering by the consistent willingness to gently begin again.”

Shaila Catherine: Guiding Minds to Stillness and Insight

Topic: Protecting the Mind

How to join?

“Emotions are dynamic processes that are in a state of flux. If you don’t refuel them through obsessive thinking, they will change and fade.”

“You can save yourself a lot of anguish by investigating your response to the fundamental qualities of pleasure and pain.”

“Once you achieve the certainty that happiness will not be found by getting more sensory pleasures or thinking more interesting thoughts, your commitment to inner exploration will deepen.”

“The problem with planning isn’t just that it agitates the mind, but that it disguises the basic characteristics of existence to which we want to awaken: impermanence, suffering, and not-self.”