Why is it so hard to hold the mind on one thing for even a minute? The tradition answers that you have more than one mind.

The first is the sensual mind. It knows only what comes through the five senses: what you can see, hear, touch and own. It is busy all day with the world, and it is where most people live.

The second is the intermediate mind. It lives on beliefs, theories and what it has been told. It argues well and it is often sure of itself. But it has never seen what it believes.

The third is the inner mind. It knows from direct experience, the way you know you are alive. It opens slowly, as the selves thin and the work is done. Every practice in this book feeds it.

Concentration is where you meet the first two at work. You sit to hold one thing, and the sensual mind brings sounds and itches. The intermediate mind brings opinions about meditation. Simply return, and return again. Each return strengthens the third.