"The Pratyeka Buddhas are very great men, very holy men, very pure men in every way, whose knowledge is wide and vast and deep, whose spiritual stature is great; but when they reach Buddhahood, instead of feeling the call of almighty love to return and help those who have gone less far, they go ahead into the supernal light -- pass onwards and enter the unspeakable bliss of nirvana -- and leave mankind behind. Such are the Pratyeka Buddhas.

The Pratyeka Buddha, he who achieves Buddhahood for himself, does not do it selfishly, however; does not do it merely in order to gratify self, and he does no harm to others; if he did he could never reach even his solitary Buddhahood. But he does it and achieves nirvana automatically, so to speak..."

The Sanskrit pratyekabuddha (Pali: pacceka-buddha) is translated into Chinese as either yuanjue 縁覺 ('enlightened by contemplation on dependent origination') or dujue 獨覺 ('solitary realizer', 'self-enlightened one', 'individual illuminate').

One of two kinds of lesser vehicle (小乘) sages, whose practice, according the Mahaayaana perspective, is aimed toward the goal of arhatship, the other being a 'sraavaka' (聲聞).

The first Chinese rendering of the term, yuanjue (縁覺), emphasizes the method by which the practitioner attains the goal, that is by analyzing the principle of the twelve-part conditioned origination (十二因縁).

The second rendering, dujue (獨覺), refers to the fact that this practitioner attains liberation through his own study and effort, not relying on the sermons of a teacher, and staying by himself absorbed in contemplation.