佛祖歷代通載 18.77

18.77

（三十一　己丑）　皇祐○九月儂智高亂於廣五年狄青平之○李覯。字泰伯。旴江人。時稱大儒。甞著潛書力於排佛。明教嵩公。携所著輔教編謁之辯明。覯方留意讀佛書。乃喟然曰。吾輩議論尚未及一卷般若心經。佛教豈易知耶。心經乃唐太宗詔三藏玄奘所譯。纔五十四句。二百六十七字耳。泰伯所言非其自肯。安能爾哉。苑文正公以表薦于帝。甞就門下除一官。復差充太學說書。未幾是年卒。

(31 / Jichou [1049]) Huangyou era. ○ In the ninth month, Nong Zhigao rebelled in the Guang region; in the fifth year, Di Qing suppressed him. ○ Li Gou, styled Taibo, was a native of Xujiang. At that time he was hailed as a great Confucian scholar. He had once composed the *Qian Shu*, striving vigorously to reject Buddhism. Master Song of Mingjiao took his own work, the *Auxiliary to the Teaching* (*Fujiao bian*), to visit him and debate the matter. Li Gou then gave his attention to reading Buddhist texts, and sighed: “The discussions of our peers have not even caught up with a single scroll of the *Heart Sūtra* (*Prajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya*). How could Buddhism be easily understood?” The *Heart Sūtra* was translated by Tripiṭaka Master Xuanzang upon the imperial edict of Emperor Taizong of the Tang; it contains merely fifty-four sentences and two hundred and sixty-seven characters. If Taibo's words were not from his genuine inner conviction, how could he have spoken thus? Duke Fan Wenzheng recommended him to the Emperor with a memorial; he once received an official appointment under the Chancellery, and was again assigned as Lecturer at the Imperial Academy. Shortly thereafter, he died in this year.