This Special Issue invites scholars to explore the dynamic and multifaceted relationship between contemplation and technology. In an era marked by rapid technological advancements—spanning Artificial Intelligence, digital media, Virtual Reality, and neurotechnology—many of the tools we rely on shape not only how we think but how we live, perceive, and experience. This reliance invites both excitement and concern: at once, technology risks exacerbating distraction, disembodiment, and existential alienation but it also has the potential to enhance contemplative practices by fostering deeper self-awareness, social connection, and global empathy. To explore such tensions, the issue encourages interdisciplinary dialogue on topics such as the use of technology in contemplative practices, neuroscience of meditation enhanced by digital devices, and cultural implications of techno-optimism and digital asceticism.

Cover image credit: AI generated image using Adobe Firefly, with human edits.

Guest Editors

• Angela Orebaugh, University of Virginia
• Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, Stanford University
• Gunter Bombaerts, Eindhoven University of Technology