Moonpointer : Buddhist Vegan Fellowship

八哥念佛
Mynah Recites the Buddha’s Name

中华民国元年（岁次壬子七十三岁）老和尚在云南组织佛教分会，是年在佛教会中有乡人送来一个八哥鸟放生，该鸟已能说话，老和尚说皈依后教他念佛，即不吃荤，非常驯良，自知出入，日常念佛及观音菩萨圣号，从未间断。
In the first year of the Republic of China, Venerable Xuyun (then around 73 years old) founded a Buddhist society in Yunnan. That year, a countryman from the Buddhist society brought a mynah to the temple for liberation. This particular mynah was able to speak, so Venerable Xuyun recited the Threefold Refuges to the mynah and taught him to recite Amitabha Buddha’s name. Since then, the mynah only took vegetarian food and become extremely docile. He was very self-aware and daily recited not only the Buddha’s name, but Avalokiteshrva Bodhisattva’s name non-stop too.

一日忽被老鹰掠去，飞在空中还是念佛。八哥鸟虽是异类，但能尽此报身，生死之际，不舍念佛，为什么我们人还不如鸟呢？
One day, he was suddenly snatched away by an eagle. However, up in the sky, the mynah carried on reciting. Although the mynah is of the animal realm, but even at the moment of dying, he did not abandon the recitation of the Buddha’s name. Why as compared to the bird, do we seem much inferior?

The 48 Encounters of Venerable Xuyun : Mynah Recites the Buddha’s Name (24th Wonder)

English translation is approximate.