(sorry this post is a bit long, about a 3-minute read)

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In the city where I live, since childhood we watched older people buy birds to release in the name of \"phóng sinh\" (mercy release). Those birds were often recaptured by tricks from the bird sellers. Some would escape. But I remember the cost each time was quite high. It wasn't just birds — there were fish too.

When I was little, I loved going with my dad or mom to buy birds to release, because the moment we brought the bird home I could watch it for a bit, and I also felt like a good person, receiving \"lộc\" (that’s what my mom said). I didn’t really understand \"lộc\" much, but I was crazy about looking at those birds with their \"chubby bellies\" behind the cage, not knowing that they were very, very scared and panicked.

I remember once my little brother opened the cage my dad had and let a bird go. An adult (I’m not sure if it was my dad, mom, or an uncle/aunt) scolded him for being naughty for letting the bird get away. The bird flew up to the starfruit tree in our yard and twittered. I suppose I should have felt sad because my brother let the bird go and then I wouldn’t have one to watch, yet when I heard that bird I felt an overwhelming joy even though we were still very small. That feeling was completely different from when my mom randomly released birds somewhere. I felt as if the bird my brother let go of sang the song of freedom.

Maybe I was overly sensitive or fanciful. Birds flying away is just instinct. One wonderful thing is: in my memory, that little bird returned to our home. Maybe I confused it with another bird, but from then on I began to hear more birds singing perched on the starfruit tree in our yard. That bird’s song stayed with my childhood and growing-up years, and when I think of it I feel so grateful that ĐCT painted such a lovely memory into my childhood.

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One day, the bird in the photo flew into my room. It didn’t fly around in a panic; it actually \"walked\" around my room. I’m so grateful to ĐCT that my room had no cat at that time (because my cat at home loves birds like crazy). I thought it might have a wing injury and couldn’t fly, so at first I intended to trap it and see what to do, then take a photo to ask my friends if anyone knows how to care for birds. Just as I took the photo, that gaze looked up at the sky and after a moment it \"squawked\" as if saying: \"Let me out! Let me out! No selfies allowed!\"

I heard it cry, so I opened my hands, and the bird shot away...

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The lessons learned are:

- Buying birds and releasing them has nothing to do with gaining \"lộc\" (good fortune), but it certainly hurts the wallet.

- Many birds die because of traps set by bird hunters, especially during seasons with festivals related to \"phóng sinh\" (mercy-release ceremonies).

A frightened and suffering little bird cannot sing the song of freedom!

- We need to respect nature as it is, and act with care so that the creatures in nature can live.

CTCM!

[F35] Little Bird