In a Jain context, both layers you described are very real:

1. Surface level: stress reduction

- From a Jain view, doing śānti / relaxation, calming the mind, improving focus etc. is still punya-karmic activity. - It can make the mind softer, less reactive, and more capable of seeing its own patterns. - So even if someone starts for “stress reduction,” it is not wrong or dishonest. It is a limited but genuine benefit.

1. Deeper level: seeing through a fixed self

- Jain Darshan does not say “there is no self,” but it does say: - What you usually take as “I” (body, role, thoughts, moods) is not the true Self (Ātma). - The soul is eternal, conscious, with its own pure nature (upayoga: knowing and seeing). - Meditation (dhyān) is meant to shift you from identification with “I am this body / this story / these emotions” toward: - “These are passing modes (paryāy). The knower-observer (draṣṭā, jñātā) is something deeper.” - As this insight deepens, the intention and flavor of practice change: - From “I want to feel better” - To “I want to stop creating bondage and uncover my real nature.”

1. The ‘tension’ you mentioned

- In Jain terms, this is the tension between: - Laukik use of practice: worldly benefits (health, calm, focus, better work, better relationships). - Lokottar use of practice: spiritual benefit (kashāya-ksaya — reduction of anger, pride, deceit, greed; weakening karmic bondage; movement toward samyag-darshan). - The same technique (e.g., breath awareness, witnessing thoughts, mantra) can be used in a purely secular way or in a moksha-oriented way. - What changes the “spiritual honesty” is mainly: - The view (darshan): What do I think this life is about? - The intention (bhāva): Why am I really doing this?

1. Is secular teaching of these practices spiritually honest in Jain terms?

- If a teacher openly says, “I am teaching this only for stress, focus, etc., not as a path to liberation,” that is at least transparent. - From a Jain standpoint, it is still beneficial, but it stops at the level of worldly good. - It becomes spiritually deeper and more “honest” (in the Jain sense) when it includes, even gently: - Right understanding of self vs non-self. - The law of karma and responsibility for one’s inner states. - Non-violence not only in action but in intention and mental reaction.

1. How deeper understanding reshapes practice (Jain view)

- With only a secular frame, practice is: - “I calm down so I can function better.” - With a Jain frame, practice gradually becomes: - “I see anger arise; I do not justify it; I see its karmic cost.” - “I watch pleasure and pain; I remain more in the seer-position.” - “I choose forgiveness, humility, simplicity, and see how that lightens the soul.” - Outwardly, both people may “sit and watch the breath.” - Inwardly, one is decorating saṁsāra a bit; the other is step-by-step loosening it.

So within Jain Dharma, there is no problem in people entering through the door of “stress reduction.” The key is that, as understanding matures, the aim of meditation naturally widens: from comfort → to clarity → to purification → to liberation.