--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Spiritual practice is not just sitting…" description: "\"Spiritual practice is not just sitting and meditation. Practice is looking, thinking, touching, drinking, eating and talking. Every act, every breath, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/nhat-hanh-515_breaths_spiritual-practice-is-not-just-sitting-a_2815837.png" --- # Spiritual practice is not just sitting and meditation… ![“Spiritual practice is not just sitting and meditation. Practice is looking, thinking, touching, drinking, eating and talking. Every act, every breath, and every step can be practice and can help us to become more ourselves.” quote by Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/nhat-hanh-515_breaths_spiritual-practice-is-not-just-sitting-a_2815837.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/nhat-hanh-515_breaths_spiritual-practice-is-not-just-sitting-a_2815837.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/nhat-hanh-515_breaths_spiritual-practice-is-not-just-sitting-a_2815837.png) > “Spiritual practice is not just sitting and meditation. Practice is looking, thinking, touching, drinking, eating and talking. Every act, every breath, and every step can be practice and can help us to become more ourselves.” [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mindfulness extends beyond formal meditation to all daily actions, turning ordinary moments into opportunities for self‑realization. **In simple terms:** Every activity can be a mindfulness practice. Key Takeaway Turn daily tasks into mindfulness practice. Themes mindfulness holistic living self‑awareness Mood calm reflective Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - eating - walking - working - conversing Key Concepts Buddhist practice embodied cognition Questions to Reflect On - How can you integrate mindfulness into a busy schedule? - Which routine activity feels most natural for practice? A Different Perspective Mindfulness can be difficult when life feels chaotic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Meditation practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation-practice/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spiritual practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-practice/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Touching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touching/) ## Related quotes > [“In sitting meditation, our practice is to watch our thoughts arise, label them "thinking", and return to the breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/in-sitting-meditation-our-practice-is-to-watch-our-thoughts-arise/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [In the practice of sitting meditation you relate to your daily life all the time. Meditation practice brings our neuroses to the surface rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/in-the-practice-of-sitting-meditation-you-relate-to-your-daily-life/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Total relaxation is the secret to enjoying sitting meditation. I sit with my spine upright, but not rigid; and I relax all the muscles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/total-relaxation-is-the-secret-to-enjoying-sitting-meditation-i-sit/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [If every day you practice walking and sitting meditation and generate the energy of mindfulness and concentration and peace, you are a cell in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-every-day-you-practice-walking-and-sitting-meditation-and-generate/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [A lot of people have realized that a good spiritual practice and a good meditation practice have real benefit. It’s not just something nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/a-lot-of-people-have-realized-that-a-good-spiritual-practice-and-a/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Here are two dichotomies here. In the West it is a very physical practice, and even meditation is a practice to become productive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-bajaj/here-are-two-dichotomies-here-in-the-west-it-is-a-very-physical/) [Karan Bajaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-bajaj/) > [Meditation is not a means to an end. It is both the means and the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/meditation-is-not-a-means-to-an-end-it-is-both-the-means-and-the-end/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [You are a Buddha, and so is everyone else. I didn't make that up. It was the Buddha himself who said so. He said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/you-are-a-buddha-and-so-is-everyone-else-i-didn-t-make-that-up-it-was/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Meditation is not passive sitting in silence. It is sitting in awareness, free from distraction, and realizing the clear understanding that arises from concentration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/meditation-is-not-passive-sitting-in-silence-it-is-sitting-in/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [The inner cry is a very good way to meditate. 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We can become the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/while-we-are-sitting-in-meditation-we-are-simply-exploring-humanity/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [In sitting on the meditation cushion and assuming the meditation posture, we connect ourselves with the present moment in this body and on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/in-sitting-on-the-meditation-cushion-and-assuming-the-meditation/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [When sitting in meditation, say, "That's not my business!" with every thought that comes by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajahn-chah/when-sitting-in-meditation-say-that-s-not-my-business-with-every/) [Ajahn Chah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajahn-chah/) ## More by Nhat Hanh > [Happiness is the cessation of suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/happiness-is-the-cessation-of-suffering/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [We need enlightenment, not just individually but collectively, to save the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/we-need-enlightenment-not-just-individually-but-collectively-to-save/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [If you really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-you-really-know-how-to-live-what-better-way-to-start-the-day-than/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Contemplating the bowl, it is possible to see the interdependent elements which give rise to the bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/contemplating-the-bowl-it-is-possible-to-see-the-interdependent/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Our joy, peace and happiness depend very much on our practice of recognizing and transforming habit energies. There are positive habit energies that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/our-joy-peace-and-happiness-depend-very-much-on-our-practice-of/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [I vow to live fully in each moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/i-vow-to-live-fully-in-each-moment/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Silence is something that comes from your heart, not from outside. Silence doesn't mean not talking and not doing things; it means that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/silence-is-something-that-comes-from-your-heart-not-from-outside/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Freedom is the real foundation of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/freedom-is-the-real-foundation-of-happiness/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Wisdom is a living stream, not an icon to be preserved in a museum. Only when a practitioner finds the spring of wisdom in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/wisdom-is-a-living-stream-not-an-icon-to-be-preserved-in-a-museum/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [We may think of peace as the absence of war, that if the great powers would reduce their weapons arsenals, we could have peace.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/we-may-think-of-peace-as-the-absence-of-war-that-if-the-great-powers/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [If you are capable of brushing your teeth in mindfulness, then you will be able to enjoy the time when you take a shower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-you-are-capable-of-brushing-your-teeth-in-mindfulness-then-you/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [If I am incapable of washing dishes joyfully, if I want to finish them quickly so I can go and have dessert, I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-i-am-incapable-of-washing-dishes-joyfully-if-i-want-to-finish-them/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [When we have anger in us, we suffer. When we have discrimination in us, we suffer. When we have the complex of superiority, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/when-we-have-anger-in-us-we-suffer-when-we-have-discrimination-in-us/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours to live. What a precious gift! 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To do both is supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-birrell/poetry-should-be-vital-either-stirring-our-blood-by-its-divine/) [Augustine Birrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-birrell/) > [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [The river is motion, turmoil, rage. 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But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlee-matlin/we-had-a-dog-apples-he-was-13-years-old-toothless-blind-and-had-the/) [Marlee Matlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlee-matlin/) [Browse all 1,609 Breaths quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Spiritual practice is not just sitting and meditation. Practice is looking, thinking, touching, drinking, eating and talking. 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