Without the Eighth Consciousness, There Is No Seventh Consciousness

Without the eighth consciousness, there would be no seventh consciousness. The two consciousnesses must be bound together and function jointly for the seventh consciousness to operate and for the eighth consciousness to function as well. As long as the seventh consciousness has not exhausted its karmic force, when the karmic seeds ripen, the seventh consciousness will inevitably manifest according to the ripened karmic seeds and undergo rebirth to experience karmic retribution. It cannot be said that the eighth consciousness abandons retribution, because the eighth consciousness itself undergoes no karmic retribution, as it does not create worldly actions of body, speech, or mind.

Cultivation first involves subduing the self, suppressing the self, then eradicating the self, and finally relinquishing attachments. This is a process with stages and steps; if the preceding stage is not accomplished, the subsequent stage cannot be achieved.