Metamorphosis

(from Chiang Ti Tales by Richard Seltzer)

Months later, Chiang Ti returned again to the village, with a smile of certainty on his face, his round bright head held high. Lotus saw him first and called together all the village folk.

He told them, "What is done is done. Man has no control over his past. He changes and learns. He is not the same person today he was yesterday, and tomorrow, too, he will be different. Life is a process of becoming. You cannot relive the past and alter it. But you can control what you are becoming. Judge men not on their past, but on their future.

"The keen observer can see what a man is becoming. A man can begin to look like a frog or act like a pig. Bit by bit he can become more and more like an animal or vegetable until when he dies, his reincarnation, his change of bodies makes but a small difference.

"From the beginnings of life, some animals have become better, others have stayed the same, and others have fallen. Be ruled and guided by those who are rising; and under their good influence all might rise together. Be not corrupted by tomorrow's zoo. A monkey who acts like a human is better than a man who acts like an ape. Judge all by what they are becoming and be ruled by the best."

"Who then will be judge?" asked someone in the crowd.

"Me," said the Mayor.

"Me," said the Schoolmaster.

"Me! Me! Me!" arose from all sides.

As the villagers bickered, waving their arms and tongues, Little Blossom tossed breadcrumbs to pigeons that swarmed about, flapping their wings and pecking greedily. Chiang Ti watched the villagers and the birds for a while, then turned and slowly walked back toward the mountains.