Can the essence of the eighth consciousness be relinquished?

Question: The Cheng Weishi Lun (Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi-śāstra) says: “（第八识）或名异熟识，能引生死善不善业异熟果故，此名唯在异生、二乘、诸菩萨位，非如来地，犹有异熟无记法故。” and “异熟识体，菩萨将得菩提时舍，声闻独觉入无余依涅槃时舍。” Are these two statements contradictory? After an arhat enters nirvāṇa without remainder, is he still an arhat, and does he still belong to the Two Vehicles? Especially the second statement—can the substance (体) of the vipāka-consciousness (āśraya) really be relinquished? My understanding has always been that the name is relinquished, not the substance.

Answer: For bodhisattvas before the eighth bhūmi, their eighth consciousness is called the Ālayavijñāna; after the eighth bhūmi, and after the nirvāṇa of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, their eighth consciousness is called the vipāka-consciousness (āśraya). When śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas enter nirvāṇa without remainder, they relinquish the name "Ālayavijñāna," not the substance of the Ālayavijñāna, and still less can they relinquish the substance of the vipāka-consciousness; when a bodhisattva of the wondrous-enlightenment stage (myojue) is about to attain buddhahood, he relinquishes the name "vipāka-consciousness" of the eighth consciousness, but cannot relinquish the substance of the vipāka-consciousness. The substance truly exists, unborn and unceasing; even a Buddha cannot relinquish it. If the substance of the vipāka-consciousness were relinquished, all dharmas would cease to exist and could no longer be produced; there would never again be the five aggregates, nor any nirvāṇa, nor any Buddhas or worlds. Only the Buddhas, who have extinguished all vipāka-nature and all ignorance, can relinquish the name "vipāka-consciousness"; even an equal-enlightenment bodhisattva cannot relinquish that name, let alone arhats, pratyekabuddhas, or solitary enlightened ones.