法華文句記 3.71

3.71

「諸天龍神」等者，塔藏身界故供者福大，不同殿堂形貌安處，故《長阿含》云：「佛臨涅槃，有梵摩比丘佛前立，執扇扇佛。佛言：却勿在吾前。阿難思念：此比丘常侍佛供給無厭，今者末後須其給使，乃令遣却何因緣耶？佛告阿難：今俱尸城十二由旬天神側塞，嫌此比丘當佛前立，今者末後諸天神等，皆欲供養，而此比丘有大威德光明映蔽，使我不得親近禮敬，是故令却。阿難白佛：何因緣故有是身光？佛言：毘婆尸佛時以歡喜心手執火炬，照彼佛塔，使其身體光明乃爾，上至二十八天身光不及。」火照既爾餘皆準知。故知舍利所住之處其功不輕，慢之生罪罪莫大矣。如斯等例經文甚多何可具列，並非今正意。《經》云「天樹王」者，即忉利天波利質多羅樹，具如《釋籤》引《大經》文。結文意者，正供舍利旁嚴國界，若直爾嚴國何須起塔？

“The gods, dragons, and spirits” and so forth: because the stūpa enshrines the bodily realm, the merit of those who make offerings is great, unlike the shrines and halls where forms and appearances are housed. Thus the Dīrgha Āgama says: “When the Buddha was about to enter nirvāṇa, there was the monk Brahmā standing before the Buddha, holding a fan and fanning the Buddha. The Buddha said: ‘Step back, do not stand in front of me.’ Ānanda thought: ‘This monk has constantly attended upon the Buddha and served him untiringly; now at the very end his service is needed, so for what reason is he ordered to step back?’ The Buddha told Ānanda: ‘Now the divine spirits of the twelve yojanas around Kuśinagara are packed closely together, displeased that this monk is standing in front of the Buddha. Now at the very end, all the divine spirits wish to make offerings, but this monk possesses great majestic power and radiance that obscures them, preventing them from drawing near to pay homage; therefore I ordered him to step back.’ Ānanda said to the Buddha: ‘Through what causes and conditions does he have such bodily radiance?’ The Buddha said: ‘At the time of Vipaśyin Buddha, with a joyful heart he held a torch in his hand and illuminated that Buddha's stūpa, causing his bodily radiance to be like this, so that even up to the twenty-eighth heaven, their bodily radiance cannot match it.’” If this is so for illuminating with fire, the rest may be inferred accordingly. Hence we know that where relics reside, their merit is not light; showing disrespect brings sin, and no sin is greater. Cases such as these are very numerous in the sūtra texts, how could they all be listed? None of this is the primary intent here. The sūtra says “the king of celestial trees”: that is the Pārijāta tree of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven, fully as in the text of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra cited in the Explanatory Slips. To conclude the text's meaning: it is primarily making offerings to the relics, and secondarily adorning the realm. If it were merely to adorn the realm, why would one need to erect a stūpa?