time and told him that the teacher could tell him everything he would like to know.
When he saw a queer bird flying around he asked his teacher, "What kind of thing is that in the air?" His teacher told him, "A bird," and that to be a bird meant to fly around and sing in every place and make music for the people.
The boy said, "Can I not do it?" His teacher said, "Yes, you can sing music for the people, but you can not fly unless you get wings."
Tsing-Ching replied, "Yes, I can do that, too. My grandmother told me about a spirit with wings."
His teacher said, "If your grandmother told you that, you can try and see. You may be a man with wings sometime."[1]
- ↑ "A man with wings." This can not be translated into the word angel.
This story from the "Chinese History," or life stories from the actual lives of the people, was taken from a district of China where Buddhism prevails. Tsing-Ching's idea of a man spirit with wings after death was based, on the belief taught by the Buddhist priests that man might live again, but that no one could attain again a state of consciousness if he killed, spilled blood, or ate flesh. Meat-eaters were consequently barred from ever wearing wings.
The idea of wings was not general, as the Buddhist spirit was never pictured as having wings, though being able to float through the air.
The hope of a future life was a little brighter for the Buddhist, however, than for the follower of Confucius. That great and good man's
teachers of these schools are required to be men of very exemplary character. They must be gentle and kind and, above all, have no bad habits.
