The man stood at the entrance of a Buddhist temple with a birdcage

Man carrying a birdcage in front of a Buddhist temple — Man holding a birdcage at the gate of a temple

A man with a shaved head was standing at the entrance of a Buddhist temple in Ho Chi Minh City with a birdcage. He was not standing there to sell pet birds, although he was doing business, but to let the worshipers release the birds in exchange for money.

Although not so common in Japan, there is a Buddhist practice of releasing birds. It is believed that by releasing a captured bird, one can accumulate merits and virtues. For this reason, Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia often have bird cages with small birds in them for the purpose of releasing them. This man was holding a birdcage for that purpose. He earns money by releasing birds that he has prepared in advance to visitors to the temple.

Paying money to release birds to accumulate merit is the same as buying merit with money, which seems a bit out of the original form of Buddhism, but considering that the same custom is seen everywhere, many people probably do not feel uncomfortable.

By the way, the released birds seem to be caught by neighborhood children for pocket money.

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