Pratyekayana, Pratyekayāna, Pratyeka-yana: 2 definitions

Introduction:

Pratyekayana means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

[«previous next»] — Pratyekayana in Mahayana glossary
Source: academia.edu: A Study and Translation of the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā

Pratyekayāna (प्रत्येकयान) refers to the “vehicle of the isolated Buddha”, according to the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā: the eighth chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta (a collection of Mahāyāna Buddhist Sūtras).—Accordingly, “Then the Lord spoke the following verses to the Bodhisattva Puṇyālaṃkāra: ‘[...] (237) In the same way that I grasp the dharma of the protectors, I see living beings by the eye of the Buddha and teach them to be Śakras or Brahmās, but it does not increase merit that much. Even though I teach all those beings to be the worthy ones (Arhat) or to mount on the vehicle of the isolated Buddha (pratyekayāna), if there is someone who, having generated the thought of awakening, upholds the true dharma, then it would be better. [...]’”

Mahayana book cover
context information

Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.

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Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

[«previous next»] — Pratyekayana in Sanskrit glossary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Edgerton Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary

Pratyekayāna (प्रत्येकयान).—see pratyeka-buddha.

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

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