Egalitarian Reverence

Contemplative Education is a field of practice and scholarship that emphasizes engagement in contemplative practices. It is not clear, however, what conception of contemplation ought to animate members of this field. Furthermore, although advocates of Contemplative Education express certain commitments to pluralism about contemplative practice, it is not clear to what extent those commitments get upheld. Through a close examination of three practices across three chapters—on theoria, mindfulness, and testimonio—this study draws out certain features of contemplative thinking while also offering members of Contemplative Education new conceptual resources and intellectual traditions to draw from in their own work. The final chapter makes a case for thinking of these three practices, and all contemplative practices within Contemplative Education, as fundamentally interested in the cultivation of ‘egalitarian reverence’: an evaluative attitude that extends basic human dignity to oneself and others, paired with a faithful sense of devotion to, and awe in light of, the ideal of democratic equality.