三寶感應要略錄 2.110

2.110

昔有練若比丘。讀誦摩訶般若經。常夜分天人來至比丘處。以天甘露。供養比丘。問天曰。天上有般若否。答云有。比丘問云。若有經卷。何故來下。答為敬法故。又天上般若。諸天傳語。人中般若。正記佛言。是故來下。比丘復問。天上有受持者否。答天著樂故。不能受持。餘州亦無。唯此閻浮提。大乘根熟。能行般若。必畢苦際。比丘復問。守護受持般若者。汝一人否。答八十億諸天。來下人間。守護持般若者。乃至聞一句者。敬之如佛。持佛母故。不可廢退矣。

Formerly, there was a forest-dwelling monk who chanted the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra. Regularly in the middle of the night, a celestial being would come to the monk's place and make offerings of heavenly ambrosia to him. The monk asked the deva, "Is there prajñā in heaven?" He replied, "There is." The monk asked, "If there are scrolls of the scripture [there], why do you come down?" He replied, "Out of reverence for the Dharma. Furthermore, prajñā in heaven is transmitted by the voices of devas, whereas prajñā among humans directly records the Buddha's words; therefore I come down." The monk asked again, "Are there those in heaven who accept and uphold it?" He replied, "Because devas are attached to pleasure, they cannot accept and uphold it. Nor is it in the other continents. Only here in Jambudvīpa are the faculties for the Great Vehicle mature, so that people can practice prajñā and are sure to bring an end to suffering." The monk asked again, "Are you the only one protecting those who accept and uphold prajñā?" He replied, "Eighty billion devas come down to the human realm to protect those who uphold prajñā, and even those who hear a single verse are revered by them like Buddhas. Because it upholds the Mother of Buddhas, one must never abandon or neglect it."