This retreat will focus on developing seven qualities that prepare the mind for awakening: mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity. These Seven Awakening Factors mature into a bright, balanced, and peaceful mind that is imbued with deep concentration and is ripe for insight. By cultivating these seven qualities meditators refine and balance their meditation practice, and progressively incline the mind toward awakening.
This retreat will provide practical instructions for nurturing and balancing the seven factors in the context of mindfulness meditation practices. It is appropriate for practitioners who already have an established mindfulness meditation practice.
Shaila Catherine is the founder of Bodhi Courses, an online Dhamma classroom, and Insight Meditation South Bay, a Buddhist meditation center in Silicon Valley in California. She has been practicing meditation since 1980, accumulating more than nine years of silent retreat experience. She has studied with masters in India, Thailand, and Nepal, and also with the founders of western meditation centers. She has taught internationally since 1996. Her teachings emphasize deep samadhi, jhana, and the path of liberating insight.
Her books include, Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity and Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhāna and Vipassanā. Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind will be published by Wisdom Publications in Spring 2022.
Shaila Catherine's website is imsb.org.
When: Saturday, December 4, 2021 9:00AM - 4:00PM Sunday, December 5, 2021 9:00 AM - 4:00PM Where: In Person - The White Heron Sangha Meditation Center in Avila Village, behind the Woodstone Marketplace, near the Bob Jones Trail: Parking is alongside the buildings with overflow parking behind Blue Heron Realty. Do not park in front of Woodstone Marketplace! See the arrows for parking in the Avila Village Aerial View. Our building is circled. Attendance will be limited due to Covid. Before registering for in person, please read the full protocol here. Online - Zoom link will be sent to registrants the day before the retreat begins. Dana: The teachings are offered freely. The retreat registration fee covers retreat expenses; none of the retreat fee goes to the teacher. Details on how to donate to the teacher and to support the White Heron Sangha will be provided at the retreat. We try to keep our retreat fees at a minimum so that you can be truly generous with your donation to the teacher. Plan on attending both days in order to appreciate fully the teachings. Registration: You must register online. Use the Register Now link. Payment can be made by credit card, or you can send a check to White Heron Sangha, PO Box 313, Avila Beach, CA 93424. Pre-registration and payment are required. The registration fee will be refunded in full if notice of cancellation is received at least one week prior to the retreat. Registration closes on November 3rd at noon. Questions? Contact Stephanie Kolm, stephanie_kr@hotmail.com More information about White Heron Sangha retreats Bring your lunch and a cup, if possible. Tea and light snacks will be provided. Chairs and meditation cushions will be available. You might want to bring a shawl and extra cushions, if you use them. No dogs are allowed in the building except for service dogs.