Spiritual Development and Education: a contemplative view

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe 1988 Educational Reform Act requires the curriculum to make a contribution to the spiritual development of school children. This article explores three aspects of spirituality, awareness, self-knowledge and transcendence. Explications draw on the teachings of selected spiritual teachers from the contemplative tradition. Their understanding of these aspects offers valuable insights into the meaning and form of spiritual development in education. A central theme is that spiritual development starts with work on the self, it involves an inner search, which begins with thought control, requires mental silence and results in a freedom from desires and egoist motives. Emphasis is placed on the process of understanding ourselves and with this a clear distinction is made between mechanical and self-knowledge, a distinction that ultimately changes the meaning of intelligence. Education has a role to play in encouraging the right balance between these distinctions. A central theme is that the function of education is to cultivate an intelligence born of an atmosphere that allows children the freedom to face the world, understand it and not just conform to it. Recent research is beginning to describe aspects of spirituality and education that have much in common with the material presented in this paper. A number of techniques and exercises are described and their applicability for schools considered.