佛說處處經 1.26

1.26

"The Buddha, the pratyekabuddha, and the arhat—these three persons—are identical in the Dharma but differ in their practices: the Buddha is awakened in mind; the pratyekabuddha knows by seeing nidānas; the arhat only knows through seated meditation. The pratyekabuddha, through nidānas, sees the characteristics of birth and death, guards himself, and dares not depart from practice; because he attains the Way from seeing nidānas, he is called a pratyekabuddha. The Buddha sought the pratyekabuddha [path] for the sake of comprehensive practice and wishing to deliver and liberate people. A pratyekabuddha cut his own flesh to keep five hundred people alive, and pierced his own throat with wood; examining and calculating through nidānas, just as cutting the earth reveals blood to be water, and seeing that all things are impermanent, he then took the Way. There was a pratyekabuddha who in a past life was a bodhisattva for five hundred kalpas, and his body already possessed thirty marks, lacking two marks and falling short of the Buddha; falling short of the Buddha was because he lacked skillful means.