起信論疏筆削記 15.43

15.43

提謂等者，佛於菩提樹下初成正覺，提謂路過，以根熟故，佛力制之，車馬不進。渠謂山林神祇幻作，如此遂尋見佛，謂是樹神，以偈歎問曰：「容顏甚奇特，猶若紫金山，未審誰家子？種族是何人？未知何所證？因何此處居？不食來幾日，未知何所須？」佛偈答云：「我是金輪王，聖帝族中子。厭俗如涕唾，出家證菩提。成道來七日，無人施我食。」提謂即以[麩-夫+少]蜜奉施，聞法得果，證須陀洹。若準此說，以提謂先未識佛，疑是樹神，非謂見樹神相，智者詳之。

Regarding "Trapuṣa and others": when the Buddha first attained right awakening under the bodhi tree, Trapuṣa passed by on the road. Because his faculties were mature, the Buddha's power restrained them, so that his carts and horses could not advance. He thought it was an illusory creation by mountain and forest deities, and upon searching he saw the Buddha. Thinking he was a tree deity, he praised and questioned him in verse, saying: "Your countenance is exceedingly marvelous, just like a mountain of purple gold. I do not know whose son you are, nor to what clan and people you belong. I do not know what you have realized, nor why you reside here. How many days have you gone without food? I do not know what you require." The Buddha answered in verse, saying: "I am the son of a golden wheel-turning king, born into the clan of holy monarchs. Despising the secular world like spit and phlegm, I left home and realized bodhi. It has been seven days since I attained the Way, and no one has offered me food." Trapuṣa then offered roasted barley flour and honey, heard the Dharma, attained the fruit, and realized the stage of a srotāpanna. If based on this account, since Trapuṣa did not know the Buddha beforehand, he suspected him to be a tree deity; it does not mean that he saw the physical form of a tree deity. The wise should examine this.