Clear Mountain Monastery Project
Swipe Left on Saṃsāra — Jhānas, Emptiness, & Leaving Your Cellphone Behind | Shaila Catherine Q&A
Apr 10, 2025
Shaila Catherine, founder of Insight Meditation South Bay, shares her extensive meditation journey. She delves into the nuances of jhāna, emphasizing its evolution in Western practice. Digital distractions, especially cell phones, are discussed as barriers to deep meditation. Shaila also highlights the importance of self-inquiry in understanding true desires and explores the ethical aspects of spirituality, including diet. Her insights offer listeners practical strategies for cultivating mental clarity and engaging fully with their meditation practice.
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Quick takeaways
- Shaila Catherine emphasizes the importance of foundational practices and ethics as essential for stability in meditation and jhana practice.
- Catherine outlines strategies for overcoming distractions by cultivating a steady engagement with meditation objects and fostering a deeper connection to the present.
Deep dives
Shaila Catherine's Journey in Meditation
Shaila Catherine has been a pivotal figure in bringing the practice of jhana to the Western audience, emphasizing its accessibility. With a meditation background spanning over four decades, she has engaged in extensive silent retreats and studied under various renowned masters in Asia, further enriching her approach to meditation. Catherine highlights her commitment to foundational practices and ethics, viewing them as essential to stability in meditation. Her experiences with celebrated teachers like HWL Punjaji have profoundly shaped her understanding of the meditative process and fostered her dedication to making traditional teachings comprehensible for modern practitioners.
