Why angels have wings

Angels have wings because it was for angels that the earth was created, not man. Angels were intended to be the dominant life form on planet earth, and their wings were meant to enable them to fly like the birds. The creation of man wasn't even really anticipated; it was in response to the growing arrogance of the angels who had once been so close to God.

In fact, it had been this closeness to the Almighty that encouraged this arrogance. God saw this and was not pleased. So He created a lesser being - a man - and told His angels to bow down to this creature made of dirt. He meant man as a means to humble the angels - and to challenge them. Man, as an obviously inferior being, was an offering to the angels. Bow down to man, yes, but do your part to raise man as a master raises a disciple - to fulfill his potential.

The angels had been close to God and therefore would know what needed to be done to raise man. About this bowing business? What could man possibly think of an angel who would bow down to him (as, really, a token gesture) but who was superior to man in all obvious ways. If someone were to bow down to me, and then proceed to fly high over my head, I might think this creature were mocking me.

But, no...the bow was sincere and not sarcastic. For the bow was meant for what I had the capacity to become, not for what I happened to be at the moment. Much the same reason is behind why, in certain oriental traditions, the master bows down to the disciple. For the disciple is the means for the master's eventual attainment of perfect enlightenment.

Man stood to gain much under the tutelage of the angels. And the angels, too, stood to gain much. For one thing - humility. For you see, man isn't really very bright and he, too, is arrogant. Any good teacher undergoes trial by fire when trying to instruct the dim, the proud, and the unwilling. By trying to teach men, the angels would come to know how God felt while trying to teach them.

And God would have a good and private, though not malicious, laugh over having created Man out of dirt and the angels out of light. After all, dirt is nothing more than another name for earth (not to mention, all dirt contains light though it be locked up, in a manner of speaking), which had been created to be home to the angels after being weaned away from the direct presence of the heavenly kingdom. An angel might well have thought:

"What? The Heavenly Father makes a creature out of the dirt we were intended to walk upon? The dirt we scrape off our feet? And He tells us to bow down to that?"

But the point was lost upon the angels, and also upon men, I'm afraid. It doesn't matter whether you are made of dirt or light, whether your origins are lofty or base, whether your teacher is an angel or a God. What matters is what you make of yourself.

But...you're a Buddhist, aren't you?

My dear reader, you may well wonder why I write about angels and God Almighty, even though I'm a Buddhist. Let me put it this way:

Sometimes you have to write in terms that people can understand, using images and "realities" they're comfortable with. Then we can move on from there.

I'm still a Buddhist who doesn't believe in a God-the-Creator, though I believe in the existence of untold trillions of angelic entities called Bodhisattvas, of which the Western God is but one. These Bodhisattvas (including God) wish, in turn, to become Buddhas, of which there are also untold trillions. And none of these Buddhas - past, present, or future - is at all interested (even if this were possible) in creating a universe which worships him. Instead, each of these Buddhas is solely interested in being the means by which Bodhisattvas become Buddhas.

Steven Searle for U.S. President in 2012

Founder of The Independent Contractors’ Party

"I was speaking to a born-again Christian friend concerning my view of angels (above). Then I told her about the perfect Bible - that uncorrupted and complete version which she believes is out there, somewhere. I don't know why I said this, but I more or less blurted out: What you're looking for is buried in the Crimea, a land bordered by the Black Sea. But...don't seek it; seek God directly instead" - Steve.