Shaila Catherine

Shaila Catherine is an author, Vipassana meditation instructor, and the founder of Insight Meditation South Bay, a Buddhist Meditation Center in Silicon Valley. Shaila began her mindfulness based meditation practice in 1980 and has accumulated over eight years of silent retreat experience plus several years (1990-1996) studying with masters in India, Nepal and Thailand. She has taught internationally since 1996. An authority on jhana, Shaila's focus is on the development of concentration and the deep states of blissful absorption. She completed a one-year intensive meditation retreat focused on jhana as the basis for insight from 2003-2004 and trained with Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw, from the Pa-Auk Forest Monastery in Myanmar (Burma). Her books include Focused and Fearless: A Meditator's Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity (2008) and Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana (2011). For more information on Insight Meditation South Bay, a calendar of events, links to lectures, and to read Shaila Catherine's blog, please visit the Insight Meditation South Bay website at www.imsb.org.