RELEASING OF BIRDS FOR GOOD KARMA

Yesterday I brought my mum to the temple for a ceremony to release 9 birds to gain good karma. Actually, the sifu chose today as the day for releasing the birds but then I have to work and won't be able to send my mum to the temple.  So we did it on the 15th day of the 12th lunar month.  In the above pictures, you can see the sifu chanting some prayers before releasing the birds on my mum's behalf.
In Buddhism, the release of animals, particularly birds, tortoise or fish, into their natural environment is an important way of demonstrating Buddhist piety. In Cantonese it is known as Fong Sang.
This practice is based on a passage in the Mahāyāna Sūtra of Brahma's Net (Ch: Fanwang Jing), which states that "...all the beings in the six paths of existence are my parents. If I should kill and eat them, it is the same as killing my own parents. ... Since to be reborn into one existence after another is the permanent and unalterable law, we should teach people to release sentient beings."

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animals_in_Buddhism