諸經要集 2.48

2.48

As the Shengtianwang jing says: If there is a place where a Dharma master propagates this scripture, that ground is a place where the Tathāgata has walked. Toward that Dharma master, one should give rise to the thought of a good spiritual friend, a thought of veneration, just as one thinks of the Buddha. Seeing this Dharma master, one should reverently, joyfully, respectfully praise him. It also says: If I were to remain in the world for an entire kalpa or slightly less than a kalpa to speak of the merits of a Dharma master who propagates this scripture, I could not exhaust them. If at the place where this Dharma master walks, good men and good women were to draw blood to sprinkle the ground so that dust would not rise, such an offering would still not be considered excessive, because the Tathāgata's Dharma is difficult to receive and uphold.