Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 3: The Path of Action

Bhagavad Gita 3.40

indriyāṇi mano buddhirasyādhiṣṭhānamucyate | etairvimohayatyeṣa jñānamāvṛtya dehinam ||

The senses, the mind, and the understanding are said to be where it lives. Through these it veils knowledge and deludes the embodied self.

Modern context

To deal with an enemy one must know where it is based. Desire has three footholds. It enters through the senses, when something is seen, heard or tasted. It is entertained in the mind, as imagination and replay. Finally it captures the understanding, which begins to supply reasons why this is a good idea after all. Once judgment itself is arguing on desire's side, little resistance is left. It is easiest to intervene at the first stage and hardest at the last.