Mental restlessness is an insidious and pervasive hindrance that most practitioners struggle to overcome. How many times have you let go of a thought, only to find it morph into a similar story a few minutes later? Many kinds of thoughts can distract us from being mindful and disrupt our concentration: obsessive planning, worrying, lustful thoughts, judging, memories, and internal commentaries, to name a few. This course will explore a sequence of practical strategies for dealing with obstructive mental patterns derived from two discourses taught by the Buddha (MN 19 and 20).
Each learning module in the course is enriched with lectures, guided meditations, exercises, related sutta readings, discussion forums, and audio conferences with the teacher, as we progress chapter-by-chapter through Shaila Catherine’s 2022 book, Beyond Distraction: Five Ways to Focus the Mind. Each lesson is enhanced with a variety of reflective exercises to help you integrate the ancient strategies into daily life situations.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Participants in this course will
- identify thoughts and mental patterns that are either helpful or harmful
- discover how habitual thought patterns function; recognize what feeds them; know where they lead
- apply a traditional sequence of strategies for removing distracting thoughts
- practice letting go of unwholesome patterns and freeing the mind from restlessness and conceit
- enhance the ability to think clearly, reflect wisely, apply attention skillfully, and effectively organize commitments
- investigate the patterns of thought, emotion, and attachment that construct and sustain the concept of self
WHAT TO EXPECT
This online course includes:
- recorded lectures
- reading assignments
- sutta study
- guided meditations
- peer led discussion forums
- optional online video meetings with Shaila Catherine
- online video meetings are recorded as audio files
PREREQUISITE FOR ENROLLMENT
There are no prerequisites to attend this course; however, it is designed with the assumption that participants will already have an established mindfulness meditation practice.
Please refer to the FAQ tab for more information.
Required Text
Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind
by Shaila Catherine
Wisdom Publications, 2022
Recommended, but not required for this course. PDFs of relevant sections are available in course.
Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha
by
Wisdom Publications, 1995
The course is entirely online, and includes recorded lectures and guided meditation instructions, readings, sutta study, discussion forums, a library of resources, and optional live audio or video conferences with Shaila Catherine.
Bodhi Courses is planned and designed for people with busy schedules and every-day demands. The self-paced learning modules offer flexibility for completing assignments. Internet access is needed, but if you have a mobile device or internet access while traveling, your participation can continue without interruption. Audio talks are streamed, not downloadable.
Yes, both. Shaila Catherine will offer several opportunities for optional live audio conferences. These sessions are optional and open to all class participants, and recordings are later made available within the course. These large group conference calls may include reflections on the lesson topic, questions and answers about applying course topics to your meditation practice, or the study of a sutta. Practical questions and comments related to meditation and the course materials are invited. However, Shaila is not available outside these large group calls for individual inquiries or practice guidance.
Students will also interact through the written discussion forums. Shaila reviews the written forums to draw out themes for the audio conferences, but she will rarely add a post directly. The written forums are intended to be a space for peer-to-peer discussions; they are moderated by a team of wise, skilled discussion leaders who help guide the forum discussions toward in-depth and practical explorations of the course themes.
A computer with dependable internet access and a browser, and standard (freely available) software for listening to audio files and viewing PDF documents.
A mobile app for Moodle courseware is also available for those who prefer to access the course via a mobile device.
No. The course is hosted on Moodle, which is courseware widely used by schools, universities, and various learning programs worldwide. Moodle is compatible with both PC and Mac. Moodle is browser-based, requiring no downloads or installations. For mobile devices, the Moodle moblie app is available for (free) download.
Optional live audio or video conferences with Shaila Catherine may be accessed by either computer or phone. Details will be provided in the course.
The registration fee covers participation in the course, but does not include books. Additional donations (dana) for the teacher is welcome and encouraged.
Donations may be offered through our Teacher Support Page.
Registration fees are non-refundable. In the case of cancellations that occur at least 14 days prior to the course start date, Bodhi Courses will credit the amount above half the low end of the sliding scale towards a future course. Voucher credits expire in one year.
Contact: bcregistration
The assignments will likely require about 3 hours per week, depending on your level of interest and inquiry. Each learning module will span 7-14 days, and during that designated period, you may work at your own pace. Daily meditation practice is strongly encouraged.
The sliding scale registration fee is the only payment made to Bodhi Courses. In addition you will need to purchase the required course book(s) from your favorite book supplier or borrow from a library.
Our lectures and guided meditations are streamed, not downloadable. Depending upon the service contract with your internet provider you may incur data charges to listen to the lectures.
We design our recorded lectures, guided meditations, and conference calls to function within the context of a structured course, and therefore we do not make them available for downloading or use outside the course. We envision this to be a classroom experience that is limited in time to the specified course period. We do not offer permanent access or personal possession of the talks, guided meditations, or recordings.
We do, however, provide the following support for enrolled participants: during each 2-3 month course period, the completed course modules remain available and students can review material from earlier modules throughout the duration of the course. We also keep our courses available for a few weeks after the closing date. The number of weeks varies and depends upon how much time our volunteers need to prepare for the next Bodhi Course. Usually the material is available for 3-4 weeks after the course ends, and we announce the final date within the course. This extension offers extra time for students to review the material or catch up if they fell behind. After this period for review, the material will no longer be available and access to the course will be denied.
COST: Sliding Scale
Please consider offering generously within your means, The lower end of the scale is intended for those with very limited means. If additional scholarship assistance is needed, please contact us. The deadline for scholarship applications is 14 days prior to the date registration closes.
WATCH THE VIDEO INTRO
MEET THE TEACHER
Shaila Catherine
Shaila Catherine
