Shaila Catherine has been practicing since 1980 and teaching since 1996. After studying and practicing extensively with Pa Auk Sayadaw at the Forest Refuge, she wrote a book at his suggestion on jhāna practice and its relationship to vipassanā. In August of this year, she will bring jhāna teachings and her enthusiasm for the suttas to bear on the subject of happiness, in a course at BCBS. Insight Journal asked her to talk about how she arrived at this point, and her plans for the course. … [Read more...]
Silent Illumination
"Silent Illumination," or mozhao, is often associated with the Caodong (Jp. Soto) School of Chan (Jp. Zen), and specifically with master Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091-1157). Never before had anyone articulated this teaching so clearly. Hongzhi was prompted to write about Silent Illumination because it was so misunderstood and unfairly criticized. He wished to show that Silent Illumination was the realization of Chan, the awakening of one's true nature. In Buddhism, there may be different expressions … [Read more...]
Secular Buddhism: New vision or yet another of the myths it claims to cure?
A hundred years ago, almost exactly, Karl Kraus, an eminent Austrian publicist and the German language's foremost satirist, famously claimed in his newspaper that Psychoanalysis is the very mental illness it claims to cure.1 Amusing and bitingly unfair, Kraus turned his violent dislike into a crafty aphorism. Today, we know how prejudiced and superficial his knowledge of psychoanalysis was when he wrote this, how personal slight rather than understanding led to what has become famous not for its … [Read more...]
Meeting Your Thoughts At a Resting Place
There is a particular discourse, titled, Vitakkasanthāna Sutta, that is taught as the Buddha's way of working with thoughts in meditation, for when I teach in a more traditional or orthodox setting, I encounter people who swear by it and take me to task on it. So, I am now going to face my biggest critic, the Buddha himself, as he is interpreted by scholars and lay meditation teachers alike. When this discourse is viewed with unprejudiced eyes regarding thinking in meditation, the Buddha may … [Read more...]
The Language We Use to Talk about Meditative Experiences
The words, phrases, and concepts found in the language we use to talk about meditative experiences has tremendous effect on our meditation practice. Believing that the purpose of meditation is to get beyond concepts and words doesn't necessarily free us from the traps of language, especially when we need to express, or somehow represent, our experiences to ourselves or another person. A wordless experience may still someday make its way into words; and contrary to popular belief on this matter, … [Read more...]