U.S.-born Catherine Pawasarat practiced the ayahuasca sacrament in the 1990s, while working as a photojournalist specializing in environmental and human rights. For 20 years she lived in Kyoto, where she met Buddhist teacher Achariya Qapel in 1998. She trained daily with him in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that’s rare in the modern West.

In 2004 Qapel and Cata co-founded the Clear Sky Retreat Center in British Columbia, Canada. There Cata has co-cultivated an innovative, generative organization with conscious community. Together Qapel and Cata have also taught virtually through Planet Dharma. Clear Sky and Planet Dharma have evolved as living labs supporting community movement through Integral stage development together, including experiments with group guru.

An expert in traditional Japanese culture, Cata advocates for the spiritually transformative and generative nature of Kyoto’s ancient Shinto Gion Festival. She also teaches about the unique roles of Women in Buddhism.