What Are the Concomitant Supports of Each Consciousness?

The concomitant support of the six consciousnesses is the manas (mind faculty). The concomitant support of the manas is the Tathagatagarbha. It is the Tathagatagarbha that directly gives rise to and sustains the manas, enabling the manas to exist and function continuously. The Tathagatagarbha directly gives rise to all dharmas, and the concomitant support of all dharmas is also the Tathagatagarbha. Without the Tathagatagarbha, there would be no existence or functioning of any dharma. However, the Tathagatagarbha must rely on the manas to operate, to give rise to all dharmas, and to manifest its own functioning and activities. Therefore, the manas is the concomitant support for the Tathagatagarbha's operation of all dharmas, not the concomitant support for the arising of the Tathagatagarbha itself. This is because the Tathagatagarbha is inherently existent and does not require arising, nor can the manas give rise to the Tathagatagarbha.