龍舒增廣淨土文 6.76

6.76

有人養一鸜鵒，俗名八八兒。見僧念佛，亦學念佛，遂捨與僧，此僧常教念阿彌陀佛。後八八兒死，僧為小棺埋之，墓上生蓮花一朵。開棺看，其根自口中生。人為偈云「有一飛禽八八兒，解隨僧口念阿彌，死埋平地蓮花發，我輩為人豈不知。」蓋念阿彌陀佛有誓願云「眾生念我名號者，必生我國。」凡言眾生者，上自天人下至微細蟲蟻之類皆是。以此觀之，則此八八兒必生極樂世界為上善人矣。人而不知、人而不修，可痛惜哉。事在潭州城外，因此名其城門。

Someone raised a myna bird, popularly called a babā'er. Seeing a monk reciting the Buddha's name, it also learned to recite the Buddha's name. It was then given to the monk, and this monk constantly taught it to recite Amitābha Buddha's name. Later the myna died, and the monk buried it in a small coffin; upon its grave a single lotus flower bloomed. Opening the coffin to look, its root grew from the bird's mouth. Someone composed a verse: / "There was a flying bird, a babā'er, / That knew how to follow the monk's mouth in chanting 'Amituo'; / Dead and buried in the level ground, a lotus flower bloomed— / How could we, being human, fail to realize this?" / For Amitābha Buddha has a vow that says: "Sentient beings who recite my name will surely be born in my land." Whenever "sentient beings" are mentioned, it includes everything from heavenly beings above down to tiny insects and ants below. Viewed in this light, this myna must have been born in Sukhāvatī as a person of supreme virtue. If humans do not know this and do not practice it, how lamentable indeed! This incident took place outside the city of Tanzhou, and the city gate was named after it.