首楞嚴義疏注經 4.440

4.440

The six faculties acting as the thieves' go-betweens means, first, that they draw in the external thieves, which are the six dusts; second, that they give rise to internal thieves, which are the afflictions. The internal and external evil thieves are capable of plundering the true nature. If one knows the root, the thieves will be powerless. Therefore the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: "The six sense bases are an empty village; there are six great evil thieves that will surely sever your life, and you should immediately stay far from them." Because the faculties and dusts perfume one another and deposit consciousness to become seeds, beginningless succession all stems from this; if one does not know how to regulate and subdue them, one will surely be harmed by them.