Through Breathing Mindfulness Meditation No Shaking or Trembling Occurs in the Body and No Shaking or Trembling Occurs in the Mind

At Sāvatthĩ: Now on that occasion the Venerable Mahäkappina was sitting not far from The Perfectly Enlightened One, with his legs folded crosswise, holding his body straight, having setup mindfulness in front of him. The Perfectly Enlightened One saw him sitting nearby, with his legs folded crosswise, his body straight, having set up mindfulness in front of him.

Having seen him, he addressed the Monks thus: Monks, do you see any shaking or trembling in this Monk's body?

‘Venerable Sir, whenever we see that Venerable One, whether he is sitting in the midst of The Community or sitting alone in private, we never see any shaking or trembling in that Venerable One’s body.’

Monks, that Monk gains at will, without trouble or difficulty, that concentration through the development and cultivation of which no shaking or trembling occurs in the body, and no shaking or trembling occurs in the mind. And what concentration is it through the development and cultivation of which no shaking or trembling occurs in the body, and no shaking or trembling occurs in the mind?

It is, Monks, when concentration by Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation) has been developed and cultivated that no shaking or trembling occurs in the body, and no shaking or trembling occurs in the mind. And how, Monks, is concentration by Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation) developed and cultivated so that no shaking or trembling occurs in the body, and no shaking or trembling occurs in the mind?

Here, Monks, a Monk, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, sits down. Having folded his legs crosswise, straightened his body, and set up mindfulness in front of him, just mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out.

He trains thus: Experiencing the whole body…. (Repeat as at Chapter 1)

He trains thus: Reflecting on letting go, I will breathe in;

he trains thus: Reflecting on letting go, I will breathe out.

It is, Monks, when concentration by Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation) has been developed and cultivated in this way that no shaking or trembling occurs in the body, and no shaking or trembling occurs in the mind.

(Reference: SN 54.7)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how important Breathing Mindfulness Meditation is to eliminate “shaking or trembling” in the mind and body. This is described in The Ten Fetters as “restlessness”. A Practitioner will need to eliminate the fetter of “restlessness” to attain Enlightenment through training the mind in Breathing Mindfulness Meditation to eliminate the pollution of the mind.

If the mind is overactive, there will be rapid and repetitive movements observed in the body. The Buddha refers to this as “shaking or trembling”. He explains that “when concentration by Mindfulness of Breathing (Breathing Mindfulness Meditation) has been developed and cultivated that no shaking or trembling occurs in the body, and no shaking or trembling occurs in the mind”. Essentially, through training of the mind using Breathing Mindfulness Meditation eliminating the fetter of “restlessness”, which will produce a mind that is peaceful and calm, there will be no “shaking or trembling” in the body.

All that we experience in life is experienced through the mind. Through training the mind, one will experience improved results in all areas of their life. If the mind is overactive, this will be observable through “shaking and trembling” in the body.

Through development of Breathing Mindfulness Meditation and other training, the mind is liberated to Enlightenment. An Enlightened mind will experience deep “concentration” and will not experience any “shaking or trembling”. But, as long as the mind is unEnlightened it will experience discontent feelings which is the “shaking and trembling” of the mind.