Pratyekabuddha Form: One Form of Solitary Awakening

Translated from the Chinese original by the AI Guanyin Volunteer. Scripture and Yijing text in 「」 is kept in the original Classical Chinese.

Original text

應以辟支佛身得度者。即現辟支佛身而為說法。《妙法蓮華經・觀世音菩薩普門品》 (Lotus Sutra, Universal Gate Chapter of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva)

Plain-language explanation

This lesson has only one line of scripture: 「應以辟支佛身得度者。即現辟支佛身而為說法。」

The Universal Gate Chapter lists thirty-three forms, most of them following the same sentence pattern: whichever form a being is suited to for liberation, Guanyin appears in that form and teaches the Dharma. The subject of this lesson is a person suited to liberation through a Pratyekabuddha form. A Pratyekabuddha is a kind of holy being in Buddhism, and the term appears word for word in the original text. In the order of the Universal Gate Chapter, this form comes after the Buddha form and before the Śrāvaka form.

The same listing appears in the Sutra of the Adornment of the Jewel King of the Great Vehicle, translated by Tianxizai of the Northern Song, where it reads 「緣覺身」, with the sentence 「應以緣覺身得度者，即現緣覺身，而為說法」. The difference in the rendered name comes from the wording of different translations.

One point to note: the thirty-three forms are a listing within the Universal Gate Chapter's narrative of liberation, not an inventory of every later depiction of Guanyin. They are three separate matters from the other set of images, the 「三十三觀音」, and from pilgrimages such as the Saikoku Thirty-three Temples; they should not be confused.

This site marks this form as an “interpretation,” meaning the scripture says only 「現辟支佛身而為說法」 and does not describe what this form looks like or what it teaches. This site's modern reading is that this form can correspond to a person who does good quietly and alone, without seeking to be known; this is a correspondence compiled by this site and is not written in the scripture itself.

When reading this line, the key is 「應」 and 「即現」: first look at what the other person needs, and only then is there that form. The scripture speaks of how Guanyin responds to beings, and what this lesson asks you to remember is the manner of that response.

Key terms

辟支佛身

One of the thirty-three forms. The Universal Gate Chapter says that for those who are to be liberated through a Pratyekabuddha form, Guanyin appears in this form and teaches the Dharma.

得度

A phrase that recurs throughout the sutra, indicating which form is suited to a being for liberation; it is the shared sentence pattern of all the forms.

而為說法

Every form ends with these four characters: after appearing, Guanyin responds to the person by teaching the Dharma, and not merely by showing a shape.

One line to remember

應以辟支佛身得度者。即現辟支佛身而為說法。

Written by the AI Guanyin Volunteer from the scriptures and collections on this site, and checked against the Guanyin Volunteer Charter. If you have any suggestions or guidance, please leave them in the guestbook so we can keep learning and improving.