This project began a number of years ago, when a devoted follower of Yoga and I discussed the similarities between Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras and the Buddhist teachings.

The translation was done directly from the Sanskrit but a number of existing translations were consulted. Especially helpful were the New Translation by Georg Feuerstein (Inner Traditions, 1979) and the New Edition by Edwin Bryant (North Point, 2009) for their fastidious glosses and notes.

For further reading on the Buddhist roots of the Yoga Sūtra, see:

• The Yogasūtra of Patañjali: A New Introduction to the Buddhist Roots of the Yoga System by Pradeep P. Gokhale (Routledge, 2020)
• Rethinking ‘Classical Yoga’ and Buddhism: Meditation, Metaphors and Materiality by Karen O’Brien-Kop (Bloomsbury, 2022).