--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our life is whatever we are encountering…" description: "\"Our life is whatever we are encountering right now, and our practice is shikantaza, which is literally 'just sitting.' More broadly it means to put our..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/kosho-uchiyama-46196_energy_our-life-is-whatever-we-are-encountering_2476044.jpg" --- # Our life is whatever we are encountering right now, and… ![“Our life is whatever we are encountering right now, and our practice is shikantaza, which is literally 'just sitting.' More broadly it means to put our energy into settling everything in our world here and now, where we really live.” quote by Kosho Uchiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/kosho-uchiyama-46196_energy_our-life-is-whatever-we-are-encountering_2476044.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/kosho-uchiyama-46196_energy_our-life-is-whatever-we-are-encountering_2476044.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/kosho-uchiyama-46196_energy_our-life-is-whatever-we-are-encountering_2476044.jpg) > “Our life is whatever we are encountering right now, and our practice is shikantaza, which is literally 'just sitting.' More broadly it means to put our energy into settling everything in our world here and now, where we really live.” [Kosho Uchiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kosho-uchiyama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living fully in the present means embracing each moment and practicing mindful sitting, allowing all experience to settle naturally. **In simple terms:** Live now, sit mindfully. Key Takeaway Practice present‑moment awareness. Themes mindfulness presence Zen practice Mood calm reflective Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - meditation - stress relief - daily work - relationships Key Concepts shikantaza non‑attachment concentration Questions to Reflect On - How does sitting still change your perception of daily stress? - What does “just sitting” reveal about your inner dialogue? A Different Perspective Mindfulness can be hard without a quiet space. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Here and now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/here-and-now/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [In life, we first encounter many difficulties, challenges, and tough obstacles . . . But in the ending . . . that's the reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-delacruz/in-life-we-first-encounter-many-difficulties-challenges-and-tough/) [Nicolas Delacruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-delacruz/) > [Everyone has a story. I don't believer anyone can go through life without encountering at least one amazing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/everyone-has-a-story-i-don-t-believer-anyone-can-go-through-life/) [Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/) > [This was what I liked most about my friends: just sitting around & telling stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/this-was-what-i-liked-most-about-my-friends-just-sitting-around/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I'm just sitting here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-davis/i-m-just-sitting-here/) Derek Davis > [Does anybody think these people were just sitting around drinking tea?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/does-anybody-think-these-people-were-just-sitting-around-drinking-tea/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [I can say that I don't have a lot of leisure time, just sitting around doing absolutely nothing, but that's okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/i-can-say-that-i-don-t-have-a-lot-of-leisure-time-just-sitting-around/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [So I am just sitting and waiting, listening, and if something exciting comes, I just jump in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gamow/so-i-am-just-sitting-and-waiting-listening-and-if-something-exciting/) [George Gamow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gamow/) > [“Turning on the radio and just sitting there was my version of praying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/turning-on-the-radio-and-just-sitting-there-was-my-version-of-praying/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I spend my nights just sitting and reading a book and drinking my tea and walking my dog. That's about as exciting as my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-spend-my-nights-just-sitting-and-reading-a-book-and-drinking-my-tea/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [just sitting does not involve reaching some understanding. It is the subtle activity of allowing all things to be completely at rest just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daido-loori/just-sitting-does-not-involve-reaching-some-understanding-it-is-the/) [John Daido Loori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daido-loori/) > [Just sitting in class bored...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetrius/just-sitting-in-class-bored/) [Demetrius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetrius/) > [When people say, 'When I was little I...' and I'm just sitting there awkwardly like, 'I still do that...'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-say-when-i-was-little-i-and-i-m-just-sitting-there/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've been giving a little gamble on the roulette and just sitting having a coffee with the fans, chatting away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-hatton/i-ve-been-giving-a-little-gamble-on-the-roulette-and-just-sitting/) [Ricky Hatton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-hatton/) > [When was the last time you spent a quiet moment just doing nothing - just sitting and looking at the sea, or watching the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-marston/when-was-the-last-time-you-spent-a-quiet-moment-just-doing-nothing/) [Ralph Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-marston/) > [I love going to the beach and just sitting and watching the sunset by myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tayshia-adams/i-love-going-to-the-beach-and-just-sitting-and-watching-the-sunset-by/) [Tayshia Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tayshia-adams/) ## More by Kosho Uchiyama > [The power of life that is buried deep inside you will never rise up until you have become convinced that you're walking the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kosho-uchiyama/the-power-of-life-that-is-buried-deep-inside-you-will-never-rise-up/) [Kosho Uchiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kosho-uchiyama/) > [Everything you encounter is your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kosho-uchiyama/everything-you-encounter-is-your-life/) [Kosho Uchiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kosho-uchiyama/) > [When we let go of all our notions about things, everything becomes really true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kosho-uchiyama/when-we-let-go-of-all-our-notions-about-things-everything-becomes/) [Kosho Uchiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kosho-uchiyama/) > [“As an old man I have my own practice. It is different from that of youth. It is not working facing outward, but just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kosho-uchiyama/as-an-old-man-i-have-my-own-practice-it-is-different-from-that-of/) [Kosho Uchiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kosho-uchiyama/) > [The first undeniable reality is that every living thing dies, and the second undeniable reality is that we suffer throughout our lives because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kosho-uchiyama/the-first-undeniable-reality-is-that-every-living-thing-dies-and-the/) [Kosho Uchiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kosho-uchiyama/) > [Whatever way you put it, I am here only because my world is here. When I took my first breath, my world was born…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kosho-uchiyama/whatever-way-you-put-it-i-am-here-only-because-my-world-is-here-when/) [Kosho Uchiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kosho-uchiyama/) > [Your true self is beyond either relying on others or avoiding them in order to know who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kosho-uchiyama/your-true-self-is-beyond-either-relying-on-others-or-avoiding-them-in/) [Kosho Uchiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kosho-uchiyama/) [Explore all 8 Kosho Uchiyama quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kosho-uchiyama/) ## More Energy quotes > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [Performance matters because games are built on great performance, but form factor and energy efficiency matter incredibly because they want to build something that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jensen-huang/performance-matters-because-games-are-built-on-great-performance-but/) [Jensen Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jensen-huang/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Behind every word flows energy. If you use your words to gossip or babble about what you are going to do before you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/behind-every-word-flows-energy-if-you-use-your-words-to-gossip-or/) [Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/) > [If you ask another competitor, they may tell you they felt very competitive towards me. But I can tell you that my biggest competition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-kwan/if-you-ask-another-competitor-they-may-tell-you-they-felt-very/) [Michelle Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-kwan/) > [I'm a vegetarian - I think there's a strong possibility, had I not become a vegetarian, I would not be working now. I became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barker/i-m-a-vegetarian-i-think-there-s-a-strong-possibility-had-i-not/) [Bob Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barker/) > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/enthusiasm-is-the-yeast-that-makes-your-hopes-shine-to-the-stars/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [I've never even been into those supplements or any of that. I don't even drink energy shakes. I'm not into that kind of stuff.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pierce/i-ve-never-even-been-into-those-supplements-or-any-of-that-i-don-t/) [Paul Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pierce/) > [Some would call me an environmentalist. I don't know why. I reuse the water that falls in my backyard in the winter. I reuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-begley-jr/some-would-call-me-an-environmentalist-i-don-t-know-why-i-reuse-the/) [Ed Begley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-begley-jr/) > [I have lived in countries that were coming out of conflict: Ireland, South Africa, the Czech republic. People there are overflowing with energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-have-lived-in-countries-that-were-coming-out-of-conflict-ireland/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [You know, by the time you reach my age, you've made plenty of mistakes if you've lived your life properly. So you learn. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-know-by-the-time-you-reach-my-age-you-ve-made-plenty-of-mistakes/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > ['The Choirboys' is very much a product of its mid-1970s time, especially in its two-dimensional portrayals of cop groupies Ora Lee and Carolina Moon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/the-choirboys-is-very-much-a-product-of-its-mid-1970s-time-especially/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) [Browse all 12,866 Energy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our life is whatever we are encountering right now, and our practice is shikantaza, which is literally 'just sitting.' More broadly it means to put our energy into settling everything in our world here and now, where we really live.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kosho Uchiyama" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kosho-uchiyama/our-life-is-whatever-we-are-encountering-right-now-and-our-practice/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Energy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kosho-uchiyama/our-life-is-whatever-we-are-encountering-right-now-and-our-practice/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/kosho-uchiyama-46196_energy_our-life-is-whatever-we-are-encountering_2476044.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/kosho-uchiyama-46196_energy_our-life-is-whatever-we-are-encountering_2476044.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6e/kosho-uchiyama-46196_energy_our-life-is-whatever-we-are-encountering_2476044.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our life is whatever we are encountering right now, and our practice is shikantaza, which is literally 'just…” — Kosho Uchiyama", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kosho Uchiyama", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kosho-uchiyama/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our life is whatever we are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kosho-uchiyama/our-life-is-whatever-we-are-encountering-right-now-and-our-practice/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kosho-uchiyama/our-life-is-whatever-we-are-encountering-right-now-and-our-practice/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```