The Kilesas: Freeing the Heart from Obscuring Emotions
“The power of one person reducing the influence of the kilesas in their life is far greater than one in eight billion — because the effect is so pervasive.”
– Catherine Sensei
We spend a lot of energy learning to manage our emotions — naming them, regulating them, communicating them skilfully. That work matters. But Buddhism has always pointed to something underneath it: the kilesas, the obscuring states of mind that colour how emotion arises in the first place.
This retreat continues to build on Sensei’s 2026 teachings on emotional intelligence, bringing that work to a natural close by looking at the formal Buddhist teachings on emotion. Where this year’s work has helped us recognise and work skilfully with what we feel, the kilesa teachings show us what’s underneath the feeling. These classic Buddhist teachings offer a direct, practical remedy for dissolving it at the root.
with Catherine Pawasarat Sensei | December 25-29, 2026
Registration Deadline: for both in-person and online please register December 18, 2026
Keen Practitioner/Early Bird Rate: available until November 20, 2026
We recommend in-person retreats as the best way to get the most out of your experience. That said, we recognise that travel is inhibitive for some people and are offering an online option for those outside the region unable to travel here.
focus area
Buddhist Foundations
practice
Kilesas
Duration
Four Days
Skill Level
All
format
In-Person & Online
What Are the Kilesas and Upakkilesas?
Kilesa (Pali; kleśa in Sanskrit) is the traditional term for what are sometimes called the afflictive or destructive emotions — the mental states that cloud the mind and drive unskilful action. Buddhism has long focused on identifying what gets in the way of our well-being, and working to remove it. The main kilesas are greed, hatred and delusion — also described as clinging, aggression and confusion — along with pride and jealousy.
Alongside these, we’ll explore the upakkilesas: subtler defilements that can slip by unnoticed, or are even celebrated by our culture. Yet even (or especially) unnamed, they weigh heavily on us, quietly disrupting our equanimity and dampening our energy.
The kilesas aren’t personal flaws to feel bad about — they’re universal patterns every human contends with on the path. They shape not just our own lives, but the society, systems and world around us.
Learning to recognise them clearly, rather than being run by them, is central to Buddhist practice. And by working to transform them in ourselves, we are also bringing healing to the world around us.
What We'll Explore
Over four days of teaching, guided meditation and group inquiry, we’ll:
- Learn the main kilesas — greed, hatred and delusion, along with pride and jealousy — and the subtler upakkilesas or higher defilements.
- Explore how this traditional Buddhist map connects with modern emotional intelligence work, bringing a fresh, integrated view to classical teachings
- Draw on the book “Destructive Emotions: How Can We Overcome Them?” by Daniel Goleman and the Dalai Lama (Mind & Life Institute), and the Upakkilesa Sutta
- Practice recognising these patterns as they arise, both in meditation and in daily life
- Consider how reducing these defilements in ourselves ripples outward, offering a living example of non-duality — healing in ourselves as healing in society and on the planet
New to this year’s series? Working with the kilesas is always relevant, so you’re welcome to join even if you haven’t taken part in the earlier emotional intelligence sessions this year.
Schedule
For in-person, please arrive December 25 no later than 5 pm.
Formal teaching runs December 26–29, with classes at 9:30am and 2:30pm each day, alongside group meditation, meals and personal practice time.
Departure and New Year’s Celebration
The last formal retreat class will be 2.30-4 pm Tuesday 29th. Departures can begin after this. However we warmly invite you to stay on after the retreat closes and welcome the new year with our community. We’ll gather on December 31 for a New Year’s Eve celebration. When booking, you can select an option to remain at Clear Sky through January 1 to rest, integrate the teachings and start the year in good company.
Meet the Teacher
Catherine Pawasarat Sensei
Catherine Pawasarat Sensei began her spiritual practices in earnest in her early 20s, when she struggled to make sense of and overcome personal suffering and international environmental and social justice challenges. She became a student of metaphysics, Western spiritual traditions, and the ayahuasca sacraments in the 1990s.
For 26 years Catherine Sensei trained daily with Qapel Doug Duncan in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003.
With Qapel she co-founded Clear Sky Retreat Center and Planet Dharma and is a lineage holder for these teachings. She supports the spiritual underpinnings of social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship for spiritual practitioners. She worked as an advocacy photojournalist and studied traditional Japanese arts (including koto, shamisen, kyogen) in Kyoto for 20 years, culminating in her landmark work GionFestival.org.
Since the early 2000s Sensei has provided dharma training and taught the path of awakening to hundreds of students, together with Qapel and on her own. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life, Sensei also draws on generative living (a.k.a. sustainability) and the arts.
About Clear Sky
Located in the BC rocky mountains, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature.
Founded by Qapel Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world.
In adherence with our quadruple bottom line, we source our food as local and organic as possible.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW on how to get here, what to bring and what to expect.
FAQs
The teaching itself is offered in the traditional Buddhist way on the basis of Dāna, Please see the section About Dāna below.
The costs below cover the accommodation, food and program/admin fees for Clear Sky to operate the retreat.
In person cost including meals and accommodation range from CAD $384.30 to CAD $834.30 according to type of accommodation and whether you will stay on for New Year.
- CAD $225.00 – Online Course Fee
Keen practitioner/Early bird discount available until November 20th.
Dana:
Registration fees cover food, accommodation and the technology needed to offer the retreat online. The Teachings are freely given on the basis of dāna.
You may have come across this elsewhere in the form of “pay from the heart”. Dāna is a Sanskrit term meaning “generosity”. With dāna, we give as a mutual exchange of generosity. It’s our joy to offer this course, and we trust you’ll match our time, energy, and passion by giving an amount of money that feels good and healthy to both you and us.
The dharma has been built on generosity. No-one is excluded for lack of funds but it is also extremely beneficial to give as much as you are able
Typically people give in a range of $120-$500 USD for a course.
As we’re committed to ensuring everyone has access to the Dharma, please feel comfortable to give less if you are not financially secure. Another form of giving dāna is to offer service, and if you are interested in providing support in a non-financial way, we invite you to contact us.
Conversely, if you are financially secure, we invite you to generate merit by providing more financial support to the Triple Gem. Contributions like these make the difference in supporting our teachers, teachings, and center.
Learn more about the practice of dāna here.
We aim to make our retreats as accessible as possible.
As a centre run entirely by Karma Yoga (selfless service), retreat fees only cover food, accommodation and the equipment required to offer them online.
The teachings themselves are offered on the basis of Dāna (pay-from-the-heart).
For some, this is still a barrier of entry.
If you are seeking financial assistance to attend a retreat, please complete a Scholarship Application form.
Click here for details on how to get here, what to bring and what to expect.
Note: In the unlikely scenario that this retreat is cancelled, we recommend purchasing refundable travel fares.
We recognize and respect plant medicine as an important part of some people’s spiritual paths.
Please note, the meditation practice on this retreat is very powerful. Consuming mind-altering substances will detract from your experience and could cause negative side-effects.
We ask that you refrain from microdosing or consuming mind-altering substances during this retreat and in the days immediately following it.
IN-PERSON: Please register as early as possible so we can plan for the retreat. Save 10% on fees until November 20th. Registration deadline for in-person retreatants is December 18th, 2026.
ONLINE: We encourage early registration – keen practitioner/early bird discount available until November 20th. December 18th is the final online registration deadline.
