As a single thread can hold hundreds of pearls

The thread (sūtra) that holds the pearls is not separate from the necklace — it is what makes the necklace possible. Remove the thread and you have pearls scattered on the floor, not a necklace. Consciousness is the thread on which the pearls of experience are strung. Remove consciousness and there is no experience, no experiencer, no world — not because consciousness has been destroyed but because the string that held the appearances together has been seen for what it is. The pearls were always just appearances on a thread.