Respected viewers, since her youth, with a heart of immense compassion, Supreme Master Ching Hai has composed many touching poems about the silent suffering of our beloved animal co-inhabitants.

In the past, Supreme Master Television has had the honor of presenting to you these poetic works, along with other creative compositions, such as music, drama, or chèo traditional opera, as adapted from Supreme Master Ching Hai’s verses. This week, we once again broadcast those selected programs with the special theme about our gentle animal friends. Please join us and feel for the noble animals who are always willing to share their unconditional love.

Greetings to viewers. Actually, I’ve known poet Phi Vân since long ago; I also performed songs adapted from poet Phi Vân’s verses. In fact, when I learned about the poem “Words of a Piglet,” I was greatly surprised. My surprise has to do with the poet’s style of composing. It’s very diverse in themes and presentation, and the genres are also very diverse. Second, when I received the song lyrics, right at the first few musical notes, I already felt quite touched.

Why? Because it’s a very difficult theme to write, it’s about the animals, the environment and thoughts about life around us. This is a realistic subject, very hard to relate to the romantic realm of music. However, composer Trần Quang Lộc was immensely talented when he adapted this poem into a musical piece with a variety of strains that entice listeners. Even I, the singer, while performing the first notes and melodies, I already felt drawn to it. Very beautiful.

The first strain is about a playful, witty and very innocent piglet in the world, and the second strain is about the calamity occurring. The third strain is after being ill-treated and enduring disaster. That has a profound philosophy about life, about cause and retribution, and finally, it’s words of farewell to the world. It seems to sound the bell to waken us all, that we must protect our environment, protect the animals around us. And that is indeed to protect our life, our resources.

I think this perhaps is the profound meaning that the poet and the composer who wrote the song wish to convey to everyone: Love all the animals, love our environment; that means we’re protecting us ourselves, so that we’re able to live in a pristine environment. I hope that when I sang the song “Words of a Piglet,” I’d sung with all my heart and all my feeling and my awareness of the environment around us. I think with that feeling, I will be able to convey the song to the audience and hopefully it will touch people’s hearts, so that we can join hands in protecting the environment around us.

Aside from enjoying good songs, we also realize a deep meaning. I think that when poet Phi Vân wrote this poem, she also put her feeling in there. In the song, I perceive a sense of irony; the piglet wishes that humans and their children live long, but also kind of pleads that if there’s a next life, he’d like to be human, not a pig. That is so painful, isn’t it?

When we enjoy a dish, which we can have during a party in any restaurant, and that dish contains the roasted flesh of a piglet, but can you imagine such a poor animal, who is so loving, so small, to be treated with such painful torture, and if we can sacrifice a little bit of our own taste, and we should contribute to the protection of our living environment around us, since the rare animal species on this Earth are facing the danger of being extinct right now. Poet Phi Vân has used the words of a piglet to speak about something more noble, which is that we should put our efforts together to protect the living environment, which is more and more each day becoming drained.

I hope that with my humble thinking, I can share these thoughts with you and have your understanding. When I receive a poem written by poet Phi Vân, I feel very happy, because her poetic verses are always very deep and encompass so much of profound meaning. When I have a chance to perform such works, I am very happy and I try my best to express these poems.

And now through this program, I would like to thank all the viewers who have supported our program, and supported me in the past. I hope that you continue to support us in the future. I respectfully wish poet Phi Vân all the best in good health. I hope that the poet is always healthy, happy, and continues to give to the world all the beautiful and profound poetic verses.

Up next is Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living. Farewell for now.