龍舒增廣淨土文 6.76

6.76

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.