and before dharana is pratyahara, withdrawing attention.

Still more important are the first two principles of hte yoga sutras, which in simple English are about ethical behavior (things to do, like careful dedicated introspection, and things not to do, like violence, lying, etc)

What they all have in common is what we do with our attention - whether attention to our cravings and desires, which are at the root of unethical behavior, to our attention being absorbed inwardly in desire and fear vs letting go of attention to exzternal things and attending to the being-awareness underlying all experience.

So the zen master was correct when she said “Attention” to the student who wanted zen summed up in one word.