Can the Eighth Consciousness Leave Last and Come First?

The eighth consciousness can neither go last nor come first. Otherwise, the eighth consciousness would be able to operate alone in the three realms, and the seventh consciousness, the manas, would also be able to operate alone in the three realms. Yet this is impossible: neither the true mind nor the deluded mind can operate alone; they must operate together in combination. If the seventh consciousness could operate alone, it would not need the eighth consciousness to give birth to it and hold it, and then it would have a self-nature and would be a dharma that neither arises nor ceases. If the eighth consciousness could operate alone, then within Nirvāṇa without remainder there would be no tranquility, dharmas of the three realms could still be brought forth, and Nirvāṇa without remainder would be clamorous—and clamor is not liberation.