Neuroscience has begun to map what the contemplative traditions have described for millennia: meditation produces measurable changes in brain structure, connectivity, and function. Sustained practice thickens the prefrontal cortex, modulates the default mode network, and reduces amygdala reactivity to threat stimuli. These findings do not reduce meditation to its neural correlates but confirm that working with citta through disciplined attention produces changes at every level of the system.
Each step builds on the last.