Everything about Pratyekabuddha totally explained
A
Pratyekabuddha (
Sanskrit) or
Paccekabuddha (
Pāli), literally "a lone
buddha", "a buddha on their own" or "a private buddha", is one of
three types of
enlightened beings according to some schools of
Buddhism. The other two types are the
Śrāvakabuddhas and
Samyaksambuddhas. They are said to achieve enlightenment on their own, without the use of teachers or guides, by contemplating the principle of
dependent arising. They are said to arise only in ages where there's no Buddha and the Buddhist teachings, or
dharma (Pāli: dhamma) are lost. Many may arise at a single time. Unlike Supreme Buddhas (see
bodhi), their enlightenment isn't foretold.
Some schools assert that pratyekabuddhas are not omniscient, while others say that they're the same (in realisation) as
Bodhisattva Buddhas, but don't have the will to teach the entire Dharma. They do give moral teachings, but don't bring others to enlightenement. A pratyekabuddha leaves no [[Sangha|]] as a legacy to carry on the Dharma.
Pratyekabuddhas (for example Darīmukha J.378, Sonaka J.529,) appear as teachers of Buddhist doctrine in pre-Buddhist times in several of the
Jātakas. The experiences and enlightenment-verses uttered by the Pratyekabuddhas are narrated in the
Khaggavisāna-sutta of the
Sutta Nipāta.
The
yāna or vehicle by which pratyekabuddhas achieve enlightenment is called the
pratyekayāna, the "on-one's-own vehicle".
In the
Majjhima Nikāya of the
Pāli Canon (
Theravāda Buddhist scriptures) it says that offerings to Pratyekabuddhas are superior to offerings to
Arhats and also that offerings to
Tathāgatas are superior to offerings to Pratyekabuddhas. This may imply that Pratyekabuddhas are superior to arhats but inferior to Tathāgatas in realization.
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