Just as when a carpenter...

"Just as when a carpenter or carpenter's apprentice sees the marks of his fingers or thumb on the handle of his adze but does not know, 'Today my adze handle wore down this much, or yesterday it wore down that much, or the day before yesterday it wore down this much,' still he knows it is worn through when it is worn through. In the same way, when a monk dwells devoting himself to development*, he does not know, 'Today my Taints (effluents) wore down this much, or yesterday they wore down that much, or the day before yesterday they wore down this much,' still he knows they are worn through when they are worn through."

Nava Sutta: The Ship

translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

*This is called abandoning taints by developing (bhāvanā pahātabbā) ( Sabbasava sutta).

Internal tranquility through breath meditation will prevent taints of sensuality from arising as there is no room for the senses to be engaged in other activities other than the perception, feeling and directed evaluation (applied and sustained thoughts) of breath. This happen specially after mindfulness of the breath becomes immersed in the body. The metaphor Buddha gave here was the six animals tied to a strong pole in Chappana sutta. In Jhana states too taints of sensuality are abandoned. However taints of becomingmay still exists.

The difference in insight meditation is that thoughts arrive in the mind from six senses but the mind does not give any value to them as seeing them as impermanent, suffering, and not-self. This will not allow thoughts to proliferate any further. Craving does not arise here. The thoughts die in the mind itself without mental proliferations (papañca) generating taints. This method of training finally abandons all taints.