Project MUSE - A Little Bird Told Me: The Magical Birds of the Pure Land
Abstract This article considers the unique case of the birds in Amitābha’s Pure Land, Sukhāvatī. Pure Land scriptures highlight the two main roles of the birds: their ornamental beauty and their amplification of the Dharma through their birdsong. In addition to the scriptures, the birds appear in Chinese commentarial and liturgical literature and popular tales. Although scriptures indicate that the birds are Amitābha’s skillful creations, they provided a familiar connection in this life to the Pure Land for those who aspired to be reborn there. This allowed for Pure Land practitioners...
Source: jhu.edu