What Are the Concomitant Supports of Each Vijñāna?

The simultaneous arising support of the six consciousnesses is the mental faculty (manas). The simultaneous arising support of the mental faculty is the eighth consciousness. It is the eighth consciousness that directly produces and sustains the mental faculty, enabling the mental faculty to exist and operate continuously. The eighth consciousness directly produces all dharmas, and the simultaneous arising support of all dharmas is also the eighth consciousness. Without the eighth consciousness, there would be no existence or operation of any dharma. However, the eighth consciousness must rely on the mental faculty to function, to produce all dharmas, and to manifest its operation and manifestation. Therefore, the mental faculty is the simultaneous arising support for the eighth consciousness's operation of all dharmas, not the simultaneous arising support for the birth of the eighth consciousness, because the eighth consciousness inherently exists and does not require birth, nor can the mental faculty produce the eighth consciousness.