《稻稈經》是闡明「見緣起即見法，見法即見佛」這一段著名經句的經典。經文大意是：佛觀見稻稈並開示經句後默然，於是舍利弗前往請教彌勒菩薩。彌勒菩薩先總說這段經句的涵義，再詳細解釋緣起。《稻稈經》目前僅存部分梵文本內容，但漢、藏二譯則是完整的，目前見存五漢譯本。本文所要譯注的《聖稻稈經頌》是依據《稻稈經》所撰寫的偈頌。其梵文原典已佚失，現存藏譯，無漢譯；作者署名為龍樹（Nāgārjuna）。此龍樹是否為生卒年約在西元150年到250年左右的《中論》作者，學者意見不一。《西藏大藏經》中關於《稻稈經》及龍樹《聖稻稈經頌》的注疏有兩部，即：龍樹《聖稻稈大乘經廣釋》與蓮花戒（Kamalaśīla, c. 740-795）《聖稻稈經廣疏》。此二部注疏僅存藏文本，既無梵本，也無漢譯。《聖稻稈大乘經廣釋》既闡釋《稻稈經》，也是《聖稻稈經頌》的釋論；《聖稻稈經廣疏》僅僅注解《稻稈經》經文，而沒有闡釋《聖稻稈經頌》。由於《聖稻稈經頌》的文句簡略，若不配合《聖稻稈大乘經廣釋》，仍無法理解《稻稈經》中微細、難解之處，因此參考它來說明頌文。
The Śālistamba-sūtra is a classic text that clarifies the famous pronouncement of the Buddha, "He who sees dependent arising sees the Dharma. He who sees the Dharma sees the Buddha." The sūtra recounts how the Buddha, after gazing at a rice seedling, expounds this verse and then falls silent. Subsequently, the Śāriputra seeks guidance from Maitreya Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva first clarifies the general meaning of the Buddha's pronouncement and then delves into a detailed explanation of dependent origination. While only a partial Sanskrit version of the Śālistamba-sūtra remains, the Chinese and Tibetan translations are complete, with five Chinese translations currently extant. The Ārya-śālistamba[ka]-kārikā, which this paper translates and annotates, is a versification based on the Śālistamba-sūtra. The Sanskrit original is lost to time. The text is currently extant only in Tibetan translation, with no Chinese counterpart. Though its authorship is attributed to "Nāgārjuna", scholarly opinion diverges as to whether this Nāgārjuna is the same figure who authored the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, generally held to have lived somewhere between 150 and 250 CE. Two commentaries on the Śālistamba-sūtra and Nāgārjuna's Ārya-śālistamba[ka]-kārikā are found in the Tibetan Tripitaka: Nāgārjuna's Ārya-śālistamba[ka]-mahāyāna-sūtra-ṭīkā and Kamalaśīla (c. 740-795)'s Ārya-śālistambasya-ṭīkā. Only Tibetan translations of these two commentaries exist; there are no extant Sanskrit or Chinese versions. The Ārya-śālistamba[ka]-mahāyāna-sūtra-ṭīkā provides prose commentary on both the Śālistamba-sūtra and the Ārya-śālistamba[ka]-kārikā. The Ārya-śālistambasya-ṭīkā only provides prose commentary on the sūtra and does not discuss the Ārya-śālistamba[ka]-kārikā. Due to the aphoristic nature of the Ārya-śālistamba[ka]-kārikā, understanding the intricate aspects of the Śālistamba-sūtra remains challenging without, as this paper does, also consulting the Ārya-śālistamba[ka]-mahāyāna-sūtra-ṭīkā.
