大般涅槃經集解 19.104

19.104

案僧亮曰：釋歸佛義也。僧宗曰：此下釋真偽之疑也。言昔令汝歸別體三寶者，以代邪歸，豈是實耶？終不更歸天神者，外道殺生祠神，以求心願。令歸丈六，以代祠神之迷，借近以接愚，非謂至極也。歸我來身一體三寶，事無乖謬，豈畏有歸天神之慮耶？

Sengliang states: This explains the meaning of taking refuge in the Buddha. Sengzong states: From here down, it resolves the doubt about truth and falsehood. This means: when you were told in the past to take refuge in the differentiated Three Jewels to replace wrong refuges, how could that have been the ultimate truth? 'Never again taking refuge in devas or spirits': non-Buddhists kill living beings to sacrifice to spirits to seek their desires; directing them to take refuge in the sixteen-foot form was to replace their delusion of sacrificing to spirits, borrowing what is near to receive the foolish—it was not the ultimate. Taking refuge in the unitary Three Jewels of my future body, the matter has no discrepancies; how could one fear taking refuge in devas or spirits?