釋氏要覽 3.392

3.392

（音堪。唐韻云龕塔也）今釋氏之周身。其形如塔。故名龕（方志云受也。廣雅云。盛也。此名蓋異俗也）南山鈔云。作絹棺覆尸。此為無龕子。故制若船。籥子以竹為骨。白絹鞔之○周禮曰。周尸曰棺。棺寬也。釋名曰棺關也。白虎通曰所以有棺者。以掩藏形惡也。

(Pronounced kān. The Tangyun says: a kān is a pagoda.) Nowadays, that which encases the body of a Buddhist is shaped like a pagoda, and is thus called a kān. (The Fangzhi says: to receive. The Guangya says: to hold. This name broadly distinguishes it from secular custom.) The Nanshan Commentary says: "Make a silk coffin to cover the corpse." This was because there was no niche-coffin, so it was fashioned like a boat or a keyhole-shape, using bamboo as its ribbing and covering it with white silk. / The Rites of Zhou says: "That which encompasses the corpse is called a coffin (guān). Guān means roomy (kuān)." The Shiming says: "A coffin (guān) means a pass/closure (guān)." The Baihutong says: "The reason there is a coffin is to conceal the ugliness of the bodily form."