འཕགས་པ་ས་ལའ་ལྗང་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.2

intro.2

The Rice Seedling (Śālistamba ¹) is one of the most important sūtras on the topic of dependent arising. In this sūtra Śāriputra approaches Maitreya and requests him to explain the meaning of the following statement of the Buddha, which he had made earlier that same day while gazing at a rice seedling: “Whoever sees dependent arising sees the Dharma. Whoever sees the Dharma sees the Buddha.” What follows is an explanation of dependent arising through the twelve links, the eightfold path of the noble ones, and their relation to outer and inner causes and conditions. Crucially, it is by understanding the very nature of dependent arising that one can be free from it and attain enlightenment.