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Being a Pratyekabuddha: Excerpt from The Treasury of Knowledge, Book Six Part Three

This is one the clearest explanations we've seen of the Pratyeka type of enlightenment. It's from the introduction to The Treasury of Knowledge, Book Six, Part Three: Frameworks of Buddhist Philosophy by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé, translated, introduced, and annotated by Elizabeth Callahan.

In Chapter Four, Jamgon Kongtrul turns to the second yana, that of pratyekabuddhas. Pratyekabuddhas attain awakening in the periods when there are no buddhas or shravakas in the world. They are characterized as having a proud, independent nature, being intelligent, and possessing only a little compassion, although they do teach the dharma in nonverbal ways once they attain awakening. The systematic presentation of their yana covers six topics: the meaning and etymology of their name; their entryway; their vows; their view; their results; and their classifications.

Pratyekabuddhas enter their path and attain nirvana by contemplating the four truths and the twelve links of dependent origination. Observing the world, they see that all things arise from causes and conclude that if causes are interrupted, their results will not arise. Working their way back through the twelve links of dependent origination, they determine that if they uproot ignorance, the links following, through old age and death, will come to an end. All the traditional sources agree that pratyekabuddhas realize the absence of a self of persons. In addition, some texts, such as Maitreya's Ornament of Clear Realization, say that they also realize that perceived objects have no self-entity. However, since they do not realize that the perceiving subject has no self-entity, pratyekabuddhas are said to realize only "half" of the absence of self-entity of phenomena (dharmanairâtmya, chos kyi bdag med).

There are two types of pratyekabuddhas: the rhinoceros-like and the congregating practitioner. These categories are based on their dispositions and intelligence, with the rhinoceros-like being more inclined to solitude and of greater intelligence. All pratyekabuddhas attain the same results as the shravakas (stream-enterer through arhat). Jamgon Kongtrul concludes this chapter by remarking that although many Indian and Tibetan texts do not consider the philosophical tenet systems of shravakas and pratyekabuddhas separately, they do in fact have many differences. That, coupled with the prevalence of the phrase "three yanas" in the scriptures, warrants a separate presentation for pratyekabuddhas. Jamgon Kongtrul bases this section on the Treasury of Abhidharma, Compendium of Abhidharma, and Maitreya's Ornament of Clear Realization.