An old woman died recently in the Village of Hai Chang, and her soul got attached to a family member, in order to gather her whole family around to hear her talk about her past life and the karma retribution she received in the underworld.
At one point, someone in the audience started silently chanting Amitabha Buddha, and the old woman said to him: “If you could carry on doing just that, you would have no worries about not becoming a Buddha!” He asked why, she said: “Because you’re chanting Amitabha Buddha.” He asked how come she knew, she said: “I can see your body glowing.”
An illiterate villager who randomly recited the name of Amitabha Buddha was already entitled to some respect from a ghost. Just think about how tremendous the respect would be if he were a seasoned practitioner!
To sum up, the merit of chanting Amitabha Buddha is inconceivable.
by Grand Master Lian Chi (蓮池大師), the Eighth Patriarch of Pure Land Buddhism
念佛鬼敬 – 錄自明末蓮池大師《竹窗隨筆》(初筆)
海昌村民某，有老媪死，附家人言平生事，及陰府報應甚悉，家人環而聽之。某在眾中忽攝心念佛，媪謂曰:「汝當如此，何患不成佛道?」問何故? 曰:「汝心念阿彌陀佛故。」問何以知之? 曰:「見汝身有光明故。」村民不識一字，瞥爾顧念，尚使鬼敬，況久修者乎? 是故念佛功德不可思議。
Buddha Mind 