佛祖統紀 28.123

28.123

天台鸜鵒。黃岩正等寺觀師畜一鸜鵒。常隨人念佛。後則常念阿彌陀佛不待教導。一日立死籠中。乃穴土以葬之。舌端生紫色蓮華。大智律師為頌之。有立亡籠閉渾閑事化紫蓮華也大奇之句。

The mynah of Tiantai. Master Guan of Zhengdeng Temple in Huangyan kept a mynah. It constantly followed people in reciting the Buddha's name; later, it constantly recited 'Amitābha Buddha' without waiting for instruction. One day, it died standing in its cage. They dug the earth to bury it, and from the tip of its tongue grew a purple lotus flower. Vinaya Master Dazhi composed a verse praise for it, which contained the lines: / 'Dying while standing, shut in a cage, is entirely an ordinary matter; / That it transformed into a purple lotus flower is truly extraordinary!'