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我的寵貓波波是我在1990年還未學佛之前購買的。在買波波之前，我並不喜歡動物；因為我很疼波波，我把她視為自己的女兒。1993年在一次因緣際會之下，我皈依了師父上人，成為一位佛教徒，漸漸了解佛教的教義。我開始了解六道輪迴，也知畜生道的痛苦；所以想盡辦法，希望波波將來能夠脫離畜生道。我皈依當天，由法師代我問上人：「貓是否可以皈依上人？」上人回答：「貓業障深重，如果皈依，要一百萬。」我還很無知的問其他佛友：「師父講的是新台幣還是美金？」既然沒有這麼多錢可以讓波波皈依師父上人，我只有再想其他的辦法。
皇天不復苦心人，我在1993 年5月1日讓波波皈依三寶，成了一隻佛教貓，法名「林慈波」。1994年春，我有幸與二位佛友在柏林根拜見上人；我告知師父，在皈依時，要幫貓皈依三寶的人就是我。上人當時告訴我，只要我用功修行，我就可以度她，不用皈依他。
師父上人涅槃之後，我請了許多上人開示，及講經說法的錄音帶。我開始讓波波和我一起聽經，我也讓波波在佛前──即上人法像之前──求懺悔，同時在家中常常撥放電子念佛機，希望波波能夠好好跟著念佛機念佛號。曾有佛友到家中來，跟波波打招呼：「阿彌陀佛！」波波也仰頭回應，「喵」了一聲：「阿彌陀佛！」
波波在10歲以後，我每隔3至4個月帶她去體檢，因為貓的10歲等於人類的56歲，以後每一年再加4歲。當波波年紀漸長，我經常告訴她要好好的念佛，臨終時才可以往生西方極樂世界。2005年初，波波的體檢報告顯示出，她有慢性腎衰竭的毛病；我更時時提醒波波，一定要好好念佛。
現在回想起來，波波或許已知她快往生了；因為每當半夜我起床的時候，總是看見她在凝望著我，尤其是她往生的前幾個月。
今年1月6日早上，醫生打電話要我馬上替波波辦住院手續，因為她的腎功能狀況比以前更不好。在送往醫院途中，我一直告訴波波，如果她不想留在這個娑婆世界，她可以安心的走，不必掛念我，要好好的念佛求往生西方淨土。我也要求醫院讓波波的念佛機跟在她的身邊，這樣波波就可以無時無刻聽到佛號。波波在醫院住了兩天半，8日中午，醫生突然打電話通知我，波波的腎功能喪失，無法排尿，波波的情況不佳。她的腎衰竭，由慢性轉為急性，醫生並建議給她「安樂死」，讓她減輕痛苦；我毫不猶豫的拒絕醫生的建議，並馬上趕到醫院辦理波波的出院手續，帶波波回家。
我在波波的身邊，一直告訴她要放下一切，要好好的念佛，求生西方淨土。波波於8日下午6點左右回到家，於9日凌晨1點42分左右，很安祥的走了，完全沒有發生醫生事前警告的情況。她很幸運，我一直在她身邊助唸；這是我這輩子，第一次從頭到尾，看到了生死的無常，心中完全沒有準備，內心的不捨及傷痛，是無法用言語形容。這是我一生中最痛苦跟最欣慰的時候，最痛苦的是「生離死別」的無奈；最欣慰的是看到波波安祥往生。波波於1月19日上午火葬，而且遺留下不少舍利，很令人吃驚，也讓人看到了佛菩薩的慈悲──不管是人畜，只要你誠心念佛，阿彌陀佛一定會來迎接你的。
佛教貓林慈波此生何等有幸，雖然是畜生，能得到師父如此的高僧大德之開示與教導，終令她能發大菩提心，精進念佛。這也無形中教導我：應該珍惜有限的生命，時時不忘精進用功修行。願以此與大家共勉之！
編按：貓會念佛，另有案例，怎麼證明此話不虛呢？牠死後葬在廟的後院，附近無水，卻在這隻貓的小墳上，長出一朵蓮花來，由此可見動物也有佛性。詳載於本刊1983年八月號第159期第十頁。
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I had bought my pet cat Bobo in 1990 before I started studing Buddhism. Before I bought Bobo, I didn’t like animals. But I loved Bobo so much that I looked after her like my own daughter. I took refuge with the Venerable Master Hua, a once-a-lifetime occasion, due to causes and condition in 1993. I became a Buddhist and gradually began to understand the teachings of Buddhism.
I began to understand transmigration in the Six Destines and the sufferings of the animal path. I tried my best to find a way to liberate Bobo from the animal path in the future. On the day I took refuge, a Dharma Master asked the Venerable Master one question for me: “Can a cat take refuge with the Venerable Master?” The Venerable Master answered, “Cats have deep and serious karmic obstacles. It costs millions of dollars for a cat to take refuge.” I even asked an ignorant question to another Buddhist friend, “Does the Venerable Master mean New Taiwan Dollars or U.S. Dollars?” Since I didn’t have such a huge amount of money for Bobo to take refuge with the Venerable Master, I then worked on other possible methods.
Finally, as they said, “Heaven never fails a person who undergoes hardship in order to achieve his or her goals”; my effort paid off. Bobo took refuge with the Triple Jewel on May 1, 1993 and became a Buddhist cat since then. Her Dharma name was Lin Ci Po. I had the honor of meeting the Venerable Master with two Buddhist friends at Burlingame in the spring of 1994. I told Shi Fu that I was the person who wanted to help a cat to take refuge with the Triple Jewel on the day that I took refuge with Shi Fu. The Venerable Master told me that, as long as I applied great effort to cultivate the Way, I would be able to rescue her by myself; it wasn’t necessary for her to take refuge with him.
After the Venerable Master entered Nirvana, I requested a lot of audio cassette tapes of Dharma talks and Sutra lectures by the Venerable Master. Bobo would listen to the Sutra lectures with me and I let her practice repentance before the image of the Venerable Master. I also played the electronic Buddha recitation machine in my house often, hoping that Bobo could follow the sound of that machine to recite the Buddha’s name by herself. One time a Buddhist friend came to my house and greeted Bobo by saying, “Amitabha” and Bobo greeted him back by raising her head and meowing “Amitabha”.
I brought Bobo for a physical examination every three to four months, since she was already ten years old. A ten year old cat is equivalent in age to a 56 year old human being. After the age of ten, each year in a cat’s life equals four human years. When Bobo got older, I always told her that she needed to recite the Buddha’s name well so she can be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss at the end of her life.
At the beginning of 2005, Bobo’s physical examination revealed that she had chronic renal failure. I constantly reminded Bobo that she needed to recite the Buddha’s name well. I recall now that she might have known that she’s about to die, because I always found that she gazed at me every time I woke up in the middle of the night, especially during the several months before her death.
In the morning of January 6, 2006, a veterinarian called me and said that I should let Bobo check into the veterinary hospital right away, because her kidney failure was worse than before.
On the way to the veterinary hospital, I kept telling Bobo that she can go with ease; there was no need to miss me, if she doesn’t want to stay in the Saha World, just recite the Buddha’s name well to be reborn in the Pure Land. I also asked the veterinary hospital staff to allow the Buddha’s name recitation machine to be kept at her side; therefore, Bobo could listen to the Buddha’s name all the time. Bobo stayed in the veterinary hospital for two and a half days. At noon on the eighth, a veterinarian called to inform me that Bobo’s kidney problem took a turn for the worse: she suffered Acute Kidney Failure, not Chronic Renal Failure. The veterinarian suggested that we reduce her pain by giving her euthanasia. Without the slightest hesitation, I refused, checked Bobo out of the hospital, and took her home.
Staying by Bobo’s side, I told her to let go of everything and recite the Buddha’s name to be reborn in the Western Pure Land. Bobo came back home at 6 PM on January 8, 2006, and peacefully passed away at 1:42 AM on January 9, 2006. None of the things that the veterinarian warned us about occurred. She was lucky that I stayed by her side to help her recite the Buddha’s name. It was the first time in my life that I experienced the impermanence of birth and death, from beginning to end. I had prepared my heart ahead of time for the grief, but the separation from Bobo was very difficult to bear. It was both the most painful and gratifying moment in my life; the utmost pain of separation from a loved one at death, and gratitude for the fact that I had witnessed the peaceful rebirth of Bobo. It was so surprising that Bobo left quite a few relics after the cremation on the morning of January 19, 2006. It also enabled me to experience the kindness and compassion of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Whether one is human or animal, as long as one sincerely recites the Buddha’s name, Amitabha Buddha will certainly lead one to his land.
How lucky that the Buddhist cat, Lin Ci Po, was, in this life able to receive the teaching and instruction from a lofty high Sanghan like Shi Fu. It made her bring forth the great Bodhi resolve to recite the Buddha’s name vigorously. It taught me that I should cherish our limited lifetime to vigorously cultivate. May we all diligently advance on the Way at all times!
Editor’s Note: There is a case of a cat that who knew how to recite Buddha’s name. What proof was there that the cat knew how to recite the Buddha’s name? After it died, it was bureid in the back yard of the monastery. Even though there was no water around the area, a lotus flower sprouted from its little grave. This is proof that even animals are endowed with the Buddhanature. (VBS #159, August 1983, page 10)
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