Rebirth of Chickens, Snakes, Cats, Monkeys, Sparrows, and Pigs of the Ming Dynasty
During the reign of Emperor Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1628–1643 CE), there was a man named Wu Xueya, who was an official in charge of litigations in Fuzhou (Fujian Province). Wu devoutly believed in and followed the Buddha-dharma. At the time, most of the monks at the local Kaiyuan Temple ate meat and disregarded monastic precepts. Thus, Wu requested a piece of writing to be carved in stone to deter them from breaking the precepts. One day, while sitting in the meditation hall, Wu Xueya suddenly heard a chicken make a sound like it was chanting Amitabha Buddha’s name. Following the sound, he found the chicken and said to the monks: “Masters[1], you said that Kaiyuan Temple has not kept any animals for a long time. How, then, is there a chicken here? Even these animals possess Buddha-nature. Yet you, who have shaved your heads and entered monastic life, break the precepts. Truly, you are far inferior to this chicken that chants Amituofo’s name!” With that, the monks at Kaiyuan Temple finally vowed to observe the precepts and keep a vegetarian diet. Wu Xueya then took the chicken back to his government office to raise it there, where it continued to chant Amitabha Buddha’s name without interruption. Later, when Wu was transferred to Danyang (in Anhui Province), he sent the chicken to Haihui Nunnery, a bodhimanda[2] that welcomed sentient beings, so that people near and far could develop faith in the Buddha-dharma. Shortly after arriving at the nunnery, the chicken achieved rebirth in the Pure Land while standing and chanting Amitabha Buddha’s name. The people built it a pagoda to honour it.
In another account, a monk named Jueyuan in Zhongzhou (Henan Province) made a vow to host a vegetarian meal as an offering for monks at Donglin Temple on Mount Lu. To fulfil this vow, he entered a retreat as a way to solicit donations. At that time, a monk who was guarding the retreat returned from an alms round at the Hua family’s house, accompanied by a rooster that followed him until halfway, at which point the monk saw it. The monk then brought the rooster back to the Hua family, but when the door closed the rooster flew out from the roof and followed the monk back to Master Jueyuan’s place of retreat. The rooster circled the place of retreat and refused to leave; thus, it stayed in seclusion with Master Jueyuan for three years. Later, the Master took the rooster to Donglin Temple and administered precepts to it. Whenever the assembly gathered in the hall to chant Amitabha Buddha’s name, the rooster would join them. After a year, when the donations raised to host the vegetarian meal had been offered, the rooster immediately attained rebirth while standing. It was buried beside Donglin Temple.
Other records tell of a snake in Jiangxi Province that could listen to the Dharma, a cat in Luzhou that attained rebirth while sitting upright, a monkey in the gorges that achieved rebirth while sitting upright, a sparrow in Zhegao Town, Chaoxian, Anhui Province, that attained rebirth while standing, and a pig in the garden of Huang Dashen that attained rebirth while sitting upright after being released into the wild. These miraculous events are too numerous to recount in detail. (Tang Yizhi’s Journey by Carriage to the Pure Land Morning Bell)
Commentary:
“Living in this evil world of the five defilements, it is easy for the defiled mind to thrive and hard for virtuous deeds to be achieved. As the sutras say: ‘One day of courage and diligence in the Saha World is worth of a hundred years in the Pure Land.[3]’ When comparing animals to humans, it is even harder for animals to achieve spiritual progress! Yet, through single-minded Nianfo with a sincere mind, even beings in the three evil realms can attain liberation. If this is possible for animals, how much more so for humans!”
[1] All the monks can be called “Fashi”（法师） in Chinese, which can be loosely translated as Masters.
[2] Bodhimanda, or “Seat of Enlightenment,” is the literal or metaphorical “place or state that embodies positive thought, effort, morality, wisdom, and compassion, leading to the attainment of enlightenment” (source: Wisdom Library). Here, “bodhimanda” most likely refers to a place that is designed and favourable for practising the Buddha-dharma in.
[3] Because it’s difficult to cultivate in the Saha world, so there is a saying that if one person can be single-minded in one’s practice in the Saha world for one day, the merit is like that of a hundred years in the Pure Land, as in the Pure Land it’s super easy to practice!
