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Sense Doors
Gotama gives a description of a way the sense doors operate in John D. Irelands translation of the Samyutta Nikaya.
"Suppose, practitioners, a man catches six creatures of different domains and different livelihoods - a snake, a crocodile, a bird, a dog, a jackal and a monkey, tethering each with a strong harness. Having tethered each harness with a stout rope, he fastens the ropes together in the middle and lets go of them. Now these six animals of different domains and feeding habits would swing around and struggle, each trying to get to his natural domain. The snake would struggle, thinking: " I'll get to the ant-hill", the crocodile: "I'll get into the water", the bird: " I'll fly up in the air", the dog: "I'll make for the town", the jackal: "I'll make for some death carcass", the monkey: "I'll head for the forest."
Now when those six hungry animals grew weary, they would yield to the one that was strongest, go his way and be under his power. In the same way, practitioners, whenever one fails to practice and develop mindfulness to the body, the eye struggles to draw him towards attractive objects, while unattractive objects repel him, the ear... the nose.... the tongue...the skin... The mind seeks pleasant thoughts and is repelled by unpleasant thoughts. This practitioners, is lack of restraint. What is restraint? Someone seeing an object is neither attracted or repelled by it, hearing a sound... smelling a scent... tasting a taste... touching an object... having a thought... He remains with firmly established mindfulness as to the body , (the elements of earth, water etc.) his mind being unbound.
Suppose ( as before) a man catches the same animals and ties their ropes to a stout post. Then, when those six animals grew weary, they would have to stand, crouch or lie down by the stout post. Likewise when one practices and develops mindfulness to the body, the eye, ear etc. do not struggle to draw his attention. This is restraint."
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