Focused and Fearless: A Meditator's Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity

by Shaila Catherine

Overview

With this accesssible guide, meditators (and non-meditators) can understand how to attain extraordinary states with relative ease. Blended with contemporary examples and pragmatic "how to" instructions that anyone can try, Focused and Fearless provides a wealth of tools to cultivate non-distracted attention in daily life and on retreat. Shaila Catherine has a friendly, wise approach to the meditative states (jhanas) that lead to liberating insight.

Focused and Fearless is about much more than merely meditation or concentration. It offers a complete path towards bliss, fearlessness, and true awakening.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780861715602
Publisher:	Wisdom Publications MA
Publication date:	04/28/2008
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Buddhist author Shaila Catherine is the founder of Bodhi Courses, an online Dhamma classroom, and Insight Meditation South Bay, a center for mindfulness, compassion, and wisdom in Silicon Valley, in California. She has taught insight meditation since 1996 in the USA, Europe, Israel, New Zealand, and Canada. Shaila draws inspiration from the Discourses of the Buddha and maintains an unwavering dedication to awakening. She is known for her expertise in guiding practitioners to cultivate concentration and the deep absorption states of jhana, and for her enthusiasm for sutta study. From 2006–2014 Shaila trained in samadhi and vipassana under the direction of Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw. She authored Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana (Wisdom Publications, 2011) to help make his traditional approach to meditative training accessible to western practitioners. Her latest book, Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind (Wisdom Publications, 2022) shares practical Buddhist strategies for overcoming restlessness and distraction.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     VII
Introduction: From Focused Concentration to Fearless Awakening     XI
The Joy of the Focused Mind     1
Cultivating the Focused Mind     3
Joy of Seclusion     13
Happiness     23
Equanimity     35
Preparing the Mind for Absorption     43
The Wisdom of Letting Go     45
Dynamics of Emotion     57
Effort, Ease, and Intention     69
Calming the Restless Mind     81
How to Establish Meditative Absorption     93
Happiness and the Five Factors of Absorption     95
Access to Absorption: At the Threshold of Peace     111
Fearless Abidings-The First Jhana     121
Drenched in Delight-The Second Jhana     133
Absorbed in Joy-The Third Jhana     139
Radiant Calm-The Fourth Jhana     145
How Deep Is Deep Enough?     153
Summary of Meditation Instructions     163
Doing the Work of Insight     167
Three Doorways to Insight     169
A New Way of Seeing     181
Experiencing the Formless Dimensions     191
Without Boundaries: Exploring the Infinite     193
RealizingEmptiness     211
Epilogue: Fearless and Awake     225
Notes     231
Bibliography     241
Index     243
About the Author     259

Editorial Reviews

"Focused and Fearless is a wonderful book. Shaila Catherine describes the paths of deep concentration and transforming insight in a way that both inspires and enriches our practice. Her prose and her understanding are exceptionally lucid. This book is a treat to read."

Joseph Goldstein

"This is the best book on these practices I have seen. It's five-star."

Christopher Titmuss

"The language here is so alluring thorough that readers will, I am certain, be inspired to redouble their zeal for practice."

Sylvia Boorstein

"Among the many how-to books about Buddhist meditation, this book stands out for its deep commitment to the frames of reference developed in the Pali Canon, specifically the role of concentration (both 'momentary concentration' in the insight path and the jhana path), and its relationship to insight. With these frames, Catherine is able to create exercises and steps that develop calm meditative states and lead to liberating insight. This book is both a pragmatic manual and a deeply traditional understanding of Buddhist meditation practice. It suggests itself as a helpful guide both to beginning and advanced students."

Mu Soeng

"Focused and Fearless is a beautifully written introduction to jhana meditation that demonstrates the importance and necessity of deep concentration."

Venerable Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw

"The exercises are fun, plus they really work. I love this book."

Kate Wheeler

"Developing a stable and undistracted mind is essential to most forms of meditation. This book will be of interest to anyone, regardless of their style of practice, wishing to incorporate the deeper stages of concentration of jhana into their meditation."

Inquiring Mind

"Rigorously investigated and lucidly explained, Shaila Catherine penetrates the mysterious world of jhana practice. Her book's strength lies in that she knows the territory intimately and teaches from her own experience. The author has deeply devoted her life to awakening through meditation, and her confidence and wisdom ring true throughout the whole book. This inspirational and fascinating manual will help many of the rest of us down this path."

Diana Winston

"Shaila Catherine represents a new generation of Dharma practitioner in the West."

Sharon Salzberg

"This is a 'user-friendly' concentration book. Through practical exercises and clear examples, Shaila makes the ancient wisdom of the jhanas accessible to all."

Amy Schmidt