法苑珠林 30.44

30.44

As stated in the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra: At that time, all the devas, all the nāgas, and even down to all the kaṭapūtanas and the like obtained supreme faith in the Three Jewels. They spoke thus: "All of us, from this day forth, will protect and maintain the saddharma. If the kings of various countries see those who have gone forth for the sake of the Buddha and received and observed the prohibitive precepts, down to those who have shaved their beard and hair for the sake of the Buddha but have not received the prohibitive precepts, or have received and violated them, possessing no accumulations, and [the kings] punish their bodily crimes and flog them on account of such circumstances, we will no longer protect, maintain, and nurture [them]. We will abandon such kings and depart from their countries. Because of our abandoning and departing, their states will suffer diverse flatteries, deceptions, contentions, pestilences, famines, and the three kinds of warfare all arising together. Unseasonal winds and rains, severe droughts, and virulent heat will harm the sprouts and crops. All the śrāvaka disciples of the World-Honoured One in their countries will entirely depart for other lands, rendering their lands empty of puṇyakṣetras. If there are śrāvaka disciples of the World-Honoured One, down to those who merely wear a scrap of kāṣāya, and if there are governing officials who flog them while the kṣatriya king does not prevent and protect them, we shall also depart from their countries."