It is true: many if not most of the applications of meditation and mindfulness in the West are, at best, side-paths alongside the main road to liberation. And yet, most of the folks taking them are not interested in “liberation,” and even if they were, they don’t have the kinds of lives conducive to really pursuing it. Which is fine; there are lots

Mindfulness, right? That’s just rebranded meditation—something Buddhists have done for thousands of years. Waking up at five a.m.? Millions of Muslims do that every day. Chanting aphorisms to yourself? Hindus have done that for millennia. Taking long contemplative walks? Christian pilgrims have been doing that for centuries, too.”