Can the Eighth Consciousness Exist Separately from the Physical Body?

Question: Can the eighth consciousness exist apart from the physical body?

Answer: The eighth consciousness possesses five pervasions: it pervades all times, all places, all locations, all realms, and all dharmas. Therefore, in addition to sustaining the physical body, the eighth consciousness also sustains forms, sounds, scents, flavors, tangible objects, and mental objects; it sustains the universe and the vessel-world; and it sustains the eighteen dhatus. Sentient beings in the formless realm lack a physical body; the eighth consciousness sustains the existence of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. For disembodied sentient beings like ghosts, the eighth consciousness likewise sustains their sixth and seventh consciousnesses.

One's own body is upheld by one's own eighth consciousness. However, external objects are not governed by a single individual's eighth consciousness alone; they are collectively managed and upheld by the eighth consciousnesses of all sentient beings with karmic connections. If an individual seeks to alter the external living environment, their strength is very limited; even a Bodhisattva would find it difficult.