Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Ideas & comment on sitting meditation

 

looking for succinct comments by Thich Nhat hanh about why we need to show up for a daily sitting meditation practice.
ChatGPT said:

Here are several succinct quotes and summaries from Thich Nhat Hanh on why it matters to show up for daily sitting meditation practice — along with a few “one-liners” of his that capture the essence. If you like, I can send a bunch more in quote-form or grouped by theme.

Key Quotes & Ideas

  1. Roots deepen with practice

    “Each time we practice sitting meditation, walking meditation, awareness of breathing, loving speech, deep listening, or any other mindfulness practice, our roots are growing stronger and deeper and we are gaining more solidity and strength.” QuoteFancy
    Why this matters: Showing up each day is like watering the roots of a tree. The regularity builds firmness, stability, and a stronger foundation for life.

  2. Letting go & nourishing body & mind

    “Sitting meditation is a way to practice letting go of the things we carry needlessly. These things are nothing but obstacles to our happiness. Ease in our sitting and ease in our breathing nourishes the body and mind.” QuoteFancy
    Why this matters: Regular practice gives repeated opportunities to drop burdens, to refresh both physical and mental well‐being.

  3. “Enjoy doing nothing” / Be here fully
    From How to Sit and related texts:

    “Instead of describing sitting meditation as the practice of concentration, looking deeply, and getting insight, I like to describe sitting as enjoying doing nothing.” Goodreads+1
    Also:
    “When you sit alone quietly, it’s something beautiful, even if nobody sees it.” Goodreads
    Why this matters: Part of the power is in just being — not accomplishing, not achieving. Being present with nothing more, as a way back to yourself.

  4. Presence is the essence of love

    “To be there, fresh and calm and loving, is a very important practice. If meditation cannot help you to be there, to be calm, to be fresh for your beloved one, don’t practice meditation.” abuddhistlibrary.com

    Why this matters: Regular sitting is training in being truly present — not only for yourself, but for people you care about. It affects how you show up in life.

  5. “Sitting means to stop, and not to run anymore.”
    From Cultivating Mindfulness in a Sangha:

    “Sitting means to stop, and not to run anymore. You make yourself available to life, so that life in her turn will make herself available to you.” abuddhistlibrary.com
    Why this matters: A daily practice is an act of slowing, of ceasing the habitual rushing. It lets you be open, receptive, and engaged with what is — rather than always trying to escape or get somewhere else.


  7. Joy & inner peace as daily nourishment
    From The Joy of Meditation as Daily Food:

    “When you have meditative concentration … you have a lot of peace and security, joy, and happiness inside of you … That’s why letting go gives rise to inner peace and security, inner joy and inner happiness.” Thich Nhat Hanh's Talks 


    Why this matters: Establishing a regular meditation gives you a wellspring of calm, joy, and inner strength to draw on day by day, especially when life is hard.

    Here’s a curated list of ~10 succinct quotes by Thich Nhat Hanh that speak to why we keep coming back to sitting meditation — useful as reminders or daily inspirations:

    1. “Sitting meditation is not to become someone else, or something else. It’s not a struggle. You just enjoy your sitting. Sit and become aware that you are there, alive.” Plum Village Mobile App

    2. “Instead of describing sitting meditation as the practice of concentration, looking deeply, and getting insight, I like to describe sitting as enjoying doing nothing.” Goodreads+2Thich Nhat Hanh Quote Collective+2

    3. “Sitting meditation is a way to practice letting go of the things we carry needlessly. These things are nothing but obstacles to our happiness. Ease in our sitting and ease in our breathing nourishes the body and mind.” Goodreads

    4. “If you always sit in expectation, you’re not in the present moment. The present moment contains the whole of life.” Goodreads

    5. “If every day you practice walking and sitting meditation and generate the energy of mindfulness and concentration and peace, you are a cell in the body of the new Buddha.” BrainyQuote

    6. “Resting is a very important practice … During our sitting meditation we can allow ourselves to rest like a pebble. We can allow ourselves to sink naturally without effort to the position of sitting, the position of resting.” Lion’s Roar

    7. “The quality of our presence is the most positive element that we can contribute to the world.” Goodreads

    8. “This is your own time. This spot where you sit is your own spot. It is on this very spot and in this very moment that you can become …” (implying your full owning of each moment) Facebook

    9. “The past no longer is, the future is not yet here; there is only one moment in which life is available, and that is the present moment.” thichnhathanhfoundation.org

    10. “Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.” oprahdaily.com+1

    Beautiful 🙏 Here are Thich Nhat Hanh’s quotes grouped by theme, each chosen to remind you why to return to daily sitting meditation — not as duty, but as nourishment.

    🌿 1. Presence — Just Being Here

    “Sitting meditation is not to become someone else, or something else. It’s not a struggle. You just enjoy your sitting. Sit and become aware that you are there, alive.”
    — Plum Village

    “If you always sit in expectation, you’re not in the present moment. The present moment contains the whole of life.”
    — How to Sit

    “The past no longer is, the future is not yet here; there is only one moment in which life is available, and that is the present moment.”
    — Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation

    💧 2. Rest & Letting Go

    “Sitting meditation is a way to practice letting go of the things we carry needlessly. These things are nothing but obstacles to our happiness.”
    — How to Sit

    “Resting is a very important practice … During our sitting meditation we can allow ourselves to rest like a pebble. We can allow ourselves to sink naturally without effort to the position of resting.”
    — Lion’s Roar

    “Sitting means to stop, and not to run anymore. You make yourself available to life, so that life in her turn will make herself available to you.”
    — Cultivating Mindfulness in a Sangha

    🌸 3. Joy in Doing Nothing

    “Instead of describing sitting meditation as the practice of concentration, looking deeply, and getting insight, I like to describe sitting as enjoying doing nothing.”
    — How to Sit

    “When you sit alone quietly, it’s something beautiful, even if nobody sees it.”
    — How to Sit

    “Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile.”
    — Breathe, You Are Alive

    🔥 4. Showing Up as Love

    “To be there, fresh and calm and loving, is a very important practice. If meditation cannot help you to be there for your beloved one, don’t practice meditation.”
    — The Art of Healing Ourselves

    “The quality of our presence is the most positive element that we can contribute to the world.”
    — How to Sit

    🌱 5. Daily Practice as Nourishment

    “Each time we practice sitting meditation, walking meditation, awareness of breathing, loving speech, deep listening, or any other mindfulness practice, our roots are growing stronger and deeper.”
    — Peace Is Every Step

    “If every day you practice walking and sitting meditation and generate the energy of mindfulness and concentration and peace, you are a cell in the body of the new Buddha.”
    — BrainyQuote

    Would you like me to make these into a printable one-page “Daily Sitting Inspiration” sheet (simple and elegant, for your altar or cushion)?
    I can create it as a PDF with soft spacing and the quotes grouped as above.

     

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