Past Life Story

You were born a wolf, deep in the forests of Mt. Taebaek. The first scenery you saw from your mother's side was a moonlit night. You had four siblings, all of whom survived the first winter. The pack's bond was tight, and within that bond you knew safety. In your earliest days, you learned the ways of the pack from your mother. The pack hunts together, divides together, raises pups together. The strong protect the weak, the experienced lead the young. You learned all of this naturally, by watching. In your third year, you became the pack's hunter. With your speed and your nose for prey, you could track game farther than any other. Yet you knew. The hunt was not yours alone. It was the pack's. The prey you brought was placed first before the cubs and the elders, and you ate last. In your fifth year, the pack faced great hardship. A long winter came, and prey grew scarce. The pack lost three members. You yourself nearly died of hunger. Yet you did not abandon the pack. You shared the little prey you found with the others. That was the way of the wolf. In your sixth year, the alpha wolf grew old. The pack needed a new leader. The wolves all looked to you. Yet you refused. You did not wish to hold power. You wished to remain a hunter. Another wolf became the new alpha, and you continued to hunt for the pack. In your seventh year, you met a lone wolf one night. She had crossed over from another pack. Her fur was white. The two of you ran together for one night. The next morning she returned to her own way. That was the only love of your life. Brief, but enough. In your tenth year, you climbed alone to the highest peak of Mt. Taebaek. There, you sang to the moon. It was the song of the wolf. The other wolves of the pack heard your song from afar. The mountain was filled with the sound of wolves singing. That was the song shared by all wolves. In your twelfth year, you grew old. You could no longer run as before. The pack still cared for you. Younger wolves brought you the prey they had hunted. You did not refuse them. You took what they brought, and you knew this was the wolf's way. In a winter of your fourteenth year, you walked alone away from the pack. As the old wolves did. You climbed once more to that high peak. There you lay and gazed at the moon. The pack's voice came from afar. You answered them in your heart. The next dawn, you closed your eyes. The pack found you. They did not weep. They only stood beside you for a long while, then howled once together. That was the wolf's farewell. You walked alone, but you were never alone. The pack was always with you, and the pack will always be with you. Your soul, even now upon some ridge, may be running with a pack, singing to the moon. You knew the loneliness of running alone, but also the meaning of running together. That was the truth that the way of the wolf taught—that freedom and bond can exist together.