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The Śālistamba Sūtra (rice stalk or rice sapling sūtra) is an early Buddhist text that shows a few unique features which indicate a turn to the early Mahayana. It thus has been considered one of the first Mahayana sutras.[1] According to N. Ross Reat, the sutra could date as far back as 200 BCE.[2] It is possible that this sutra represents a period of Buddhist literature before the Mahayana had diverged significantly from the doctrine of the Early Buddhist schools.[3]
Three commentaries on the sutra traditionally attributed to Nagarjuna also survive in Tibetan (Peking nos. 5466, 5485, 5486).[4] There is also a commentary attributed to Kamalasila (eighth century).[5]