Training with Great Masters

Shaila Catherine was introduced to meditation in 1980 and began a lifetime of dedicated dharma practice.

She has studied with renown teachers in the United States, England, India, Thailand and Nepal. She trained with the founders of western insight meditation centers including Christopher Titmuss and Joseph Goldstein, as well as eminent Asian teachers H.W.L. Poonja, Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche and Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.

She has twice completed the rigorous jhāna and vipassana training program of Pa-Auk Sayadaw and honed her satipaṭṭhāna practice while teaching with Anālayo Bhikkhu.

Extensive Teaching Experience

With more than nine years in intensive silent retreat and a lifetime of dedicated study, Shaila embodies the teachings of the great masters with whom she has trained. She loves deep meditation, and appreciates a wide range of approaches to exploring, developing and liberating the mind.

Shaila has been leading meditation retreats worldwide since 1996. Her profound teachings emphasize deep concentration, jhāna and the path of liberating insight. An accessible and compassionate teacher, she is recognized for her depth of meditative attainment and clarity in expressing the teachings.

“Shaila is profoundly serious about her teaching and her students, and she is never more than a couple of seconds away from a hearty and joy-filled laugh, no matter what the topic. I think this is a wonderful combination of qualities in a teacher.”

 ~ Michael M., California

Opportunities to Study with Shaila Catherine

Online and In-Person Teachings

Shaila founded Bodhi Courses, an online Dhamma classroom, and Insight Meditation South Bay, a Buddhist meditation center in Silicon Valley in California to support meditators who wish to hone their meditation skills, expand their wisdom, and nurture deep peace.

Explore Bodhi Courses and Insight Meditation South Bay for retreats, classes, meditation groups, and teachings.

Shaila also accepts invitations to teach retreats worldwide. If you wish to invite Shaila to lead a retreat for your community contact: sit

Retreats

Shaila leads several residential and online retreats across the United States each year. Discover current offerings and register for retreats at Bodhi Courses, where you’ll find topics ranging from dealing with distraction to cultivating concentration through breath and metta practices, and more.

Books

Shaila has authored three highly praised books sharing her profound teachings on meditation: Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity; Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhāna and Vipassanā; and the eagerly anticipated Beyond Distraction: Practical Ways to Free the Mind, available in early 2022.

Follow the links to purchase!

Audio Recordings

Discover nearly a hundred dharma talks offered by Shaila over the past two decades at Dharma Seed.

Studying with Shaila is a precious gift.  She has something to offer everyone, from beginner to advanced practitioner.  Her pragmatic teaching style ensures that I always walk away from her classes with not only a deeper understanding of the Dhamma, but also a clear understanding of how the Dhamma applies to my own spiritual practice.

 — Kathleen N., Indiana

Shaila’s love and passion and faith in the dharma is an inspiration to me! She embodies the joy and happiness that she teaches, and this too, inspires.

— June K., California

Shaila Catherine represents a new generation of Dharma practitioner in the West, with in-depth experience studying with some of the greatest masters of both the Theravadan and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Her commitment to intensive practice has been matched by her dedication to study, and her exploration of the practice of concentration and jhanas reflects both these strengths.

— Sharon Salzberg, author of Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience

Shaila brings a wealth of personal experience to the Dharma that exceeds teachers who are a generation older than herself. As a dedicated practitioner of Dharma, she spent several years in India and Thailand to deepen her experience, her meditations and her understanding of the core issues of life. Shaila has never been one to rest on the past. Like yogis of old, she loves entering into extensive periods of silence and personal retreat. Such commitment gives her voice enormous authority. I would encourage everyone, from the complete beginner to the most seasoned meditator and mind/body professional to listen to the teachings and guidance of Shaila.

— Christopher Titmuss, author of An Awakened Life

Shaila is a terrific Dharma teacher and accomplished Buddhist practitioner, a genuine Bodhisattva. I have known her for many years, in both India and America. We studied and practiced together under some of the same master teachers and now enjoy a close collegial friendship. She has a clear mind and a generous, loving and unselfish heart. I believe that anyone interested in our practice tradition would benefit by studying with her.

— Lama Surya Das, author of Awakening the Buddha Within