Dhyāna: From Liberation to Stress Relief

From the Bodhi Tree to corporate retreats, from monastery to meditation app, explore how Buddhist vipassanā, yogic dhyāna, and tantric practices became MBSR, TM, and Headspace.

Lessons in this chapter

• Aṣṭāṅga: Where Dhyāna Belongs in the Path — Understanding meditation as the seventh limb of Patañjali's complete system
• Vipassanā: From Bodhi Tree to Corporate Retreat — Tracing the journey of Buddhist insight meditation into modern 10-day silent retreats
• Sati: Buddhist Awareness Becomes MBSR — How Buddhist mindfulness entered Western medicine through Jon Kabat-Zinn's strategic secularization
• Mantra Japa: The Practice Behind Transcendental Meditation — How ancient mantra repetition became Maharishi's trademarked technique
• Trāṭaka: Yogic Gazing Becomes 'Focus Training' — The ancient practice of steady gazing repackaged for the attention economy
• Yoga Nidrā: The Practice Sleep Apps Are Selling — Traditional yogic sleep vs. modern sleep hacking, what's lost and what remains
• The Missing Limbs: Ethics, Discipline, Devotion — What modern meditation strips away from the complete path

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