The source consciousness， or root consciousness （Skt. mu^la-vijn~a^na; Tib. rtsa bah!i rnam）， posited by the Maha^sa^m!ghika school 大众部， understood as the consciousness that links rebirths. This concept is a forerunner of the idea of container consciousness 阿赖耶识 that developed in the Yoga^ca^ra school. It is also used in Yoga^ca^ra synonymously with a^layavijn~a^na.