Mahāparinibbāna Sutta 1.6.14

1.6.14

Yāvakīvañca, bhikkhave, bhikkhū ye te bhikkhū therā rattaññū cirapabbajitā saṅghapitaro saṅghapariṇāyakā, te sakkarissanti garuṃ karissanti mānessanti pūjessanti, tesañca sotabbaṃ maññissanti, vuddhiyeva, bhikkhave, bhikkhūnaṃ pāṭikaṅkhā, no parihāni.

As long as the mendicants honor, respect, esteem, and venerate the senior mendicants—of long standing, long gone forth, fathers and leaders of the Saṅgha—and think them worth listening to, they can expect growth, not decline.