三寶感應要略錄 2.110

2.110

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."