Enkaku - Engaku

It refers to a Buddhist saint. It is a translation of the Sanskrit pratyeka-buddha (one who has attained enlightenment on his own). It can also be translated as dokaku (self-enlightened), and the transliteration by byakshibutsu (prakushibutsu) is also used. It refers to a solitary saint who has attained enlightenment on his own, without relying on the teachings of Buddha, without a teacher, and who does not try to preach to others. It is thought that the reason this was translated as "pratyeka" in China is because pratyeka (meaning "alone") was read as pratyaya (meaning "connected"), or because it represents the fact that this saint is said to have attained enlightenment through the practice of observing the twelve dependent causes (the theory of dependent origination that sets out 12 items).

The concept of Pratyekabuddha originated from a hermit who actually existed in India, and the name is also used in Jainism, which is outside Buddhism. After being adopted into Buddhism, he was considered a saint who was intermediate between the Buddha and his disciples, and eventually came to be counted as one of the three vehicles, namely the Shravaka-yana (vehicle of the Buddha's disciples), the Pratyekabuddha-yana (vehicle of the enlightened), the Bodhisattva-yana (vehicle of the seeker), or the Buddha-yana (vehicle of the Buddha). In Mahayana Buddhism, the Shravaka-yana and Pratyekabuddha-yana vehicles represent the Hinayana position and are inferior to the Bodhisattva-yana, which represents the Mahayana position, but on the other hand, it is also emphasized that all three vehicles belong to the One Vehicle (One Buddha Vehicle).

[Hirotaka Fujita]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

仏教の聖者をいう。サンスクリット語プラティエーカ・ブッダpratyeka-buddha（独りで覚(さと)った者）の訳語。独覚(どっかく)とも訳し、また辟支仏(びゃくしぶつ)という音訳語も用いられる。仏の教えによらず、師なく、自ら独りで覚り、他に教えを説こうとしない孤高の聖者をいう。これを中国で「縁覚」と訳したのは、プラティエーカpratyeka（「独りの」の意）をプラティヤヤpratyaya（「縁」の意）と読んだためか、あるいはこの聖者が十二因縁(いんねん)（12の項目をたてる縁起説）を観ずる修行をして覚ったといわれる点を表したためかと考えられる。

　縁覚の観念は、もとインドに実在した隠遁(いんとん)的な修行者（仙人(せんにん)）に由来するもので、仏教外のジャイナ教でもこの名称を用いている。仏教に取り入れられてからは、仏と仏弟子との中間に位する聖者とみなされ、やがて三乗すなわち声聞(しょうもん)乗（仏弟子の乗り物）、縁覚乗（独覚の乗り物）、菩薩(ぼさつ)乗（求道者(ぐどうしゃ)の乗り物）または仏乗（仏の乗り物）の一つに数えられるようになった。大乗仏教においては声聞乗と縁覚乗の二乗は小乗の立場を表すもので、大乗の立場を表す菩薩乗より劣るが、他方、この三乗すべてが一乗（一仏乗）に帰すことも強調されている。

［藤田宏達］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例