缘觉乘

The 'middle conveyance' period, characterized as that of the (sa) pratyekabuddha, who is enlightened by the twelve (sa) nidānas; it is considered as an advance on the Hīnayāna, cf. (sa) śrāvaka, but not yet the standard of the altruistic (sa) bodhisattva-vehicle, the Mahāyāna.