The Best Quotes from The Miracle of Mindfulness
The Miracle of Mindfulness is one of the finest books by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. In a previous article, we introduced this book in detail to our readers. Below are the quotes that Reading To Heal finds most meaningful.
12 Best Quotes from The Miracle of Mindfulness
Every sentence, every passage in The Miracle of Mindfulness is worth reflecting on, for within it flows the energy of mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh. Here, we have selected only twelve of the most meaningful quotes from a personal perspective and invite you to contemplate them with us.
There are two ways to wash dishes. The first is washing dishes in order to finish washing dishes. The second is washing dishes not in order to finish washing dishes.
Yet anyone who washes dishes wants to finish quickly, so they can go sit and relax; many wives even ask their husbands to buy a dishwasher.
While washing dishes, one should only wash dishes: that is, while washing dishes, one is aware that the main event is washing the dishes.
If you do not know how to wash dishes, then when you hold a cup of tea, you may not know how to drink tea either.
If we truly maintain mindfulness while walking along a village path, we will see that the very act of walking on that village path is a miracle.
I think the miracle is not walking on water or walking on burning coals, but walking on the earth.
The breath is the bridge connecting body and mind; it harmonizes both body and mind; it establishes the unity of body and mind. Both body and mind are related to the breath, and the breath can be used to harmonize them, bringing about a state of calm clarity that illuminates both.
A practitioner practices twenty-four hours a day, not only during chanting or sitting meditation.
Doing is practicing; do not wish to finish quickly.
While practicing mindfulness, we should not let distinctions of good and evil, right and wrong dominate us and create inner struggle. Do not pull things toward you or push them away; do not love or hate them. Just recognize them-that is enough.
When you are new to meditation, do not wait to “see your true nature” or to “become enlightened.” Better yet, do not wait for anything at all. Especially do not wait to see the Buddha while sitting in meditation.
The one who looks at a table and sees the universe sees the Way.
The Most Meaningful Quote in This Book
If we had to choose the single best quote from The Miracle of Mindfulness, Reading To Heal would choose:
“I think the miracle is not walking on water or walking on burning coals, but walking on the earth.”
Why do we choose this quote? Because it encompasses everything we seek in mindfulness.
When speaking of spirituality, mindfulness, or awakening the ego, we often become excited by words such as “magic” and “miracle.” We tend to think that a miracle means walking on water, walking on burning coals, or flying through the air-without ever realizing that “walking on the earth” itself is also a miracle.
Simply because our minds are too noisy. We walk on the earth but never truly pay attention, never devote a full 100 percent of ourselves to walking on the earth. In other words, our minds wander into the future, worry about the past, and in doing so forget that the very act of walking, of living, is already a miracle.
For me personally, when I first read the books of Thich Nhat Hanh, I was also attached to words like “miracle.” As a result, I kept searching for miracles outside myself and wished that one day I, too, could walk on water or on burning coals like in the movies.
But gradually, I came to understand that miracles only happen when we turn inward to understand ourselves and clearly see the ignorance within us.
What about you? Which quote by Thich Nhat Hanh do you love most? Please share it right below this article.
