INTRODUCTION
🌿 The legend of Dan-goon, the founding story of the Korean nation, is far more than a cultural myth.
As Master Woo Myung reveals, it symbolizes the Way to Truth, the spiritual transformation that occurs when one endures hardship and lets go of human desires.
Just as the bear in the story patiently endured darkness and fasting to become human,
those who walk the path to enlightenment must undergo inner cleansing and endurance.
In contrast, the tiger, representing cleverness and impatience, abandons the process —
just as many people give up when Truth demands perseverance and humility. 🕊️
This ancient story mirrors the process of rebirth:
only when one’s false self completely dies, like the silkworm transforming within its cocoon,
can one be reborn as Truth, living freely in the world of light.
ORIGINAL WRITING BY MASTER WOO MYUNG
The Founding of the Korean Nation: The Legend of Dan-goon
The legend of Dan-goon is one that has been passed down for generations and tells how the Korean nation was founded.
The story goes that long ago, there was a bear and a tiger who both wanted to become human.
They sought out Hwan-oong, the son of God, who told them that they must eat garlic and mugwort and live in a dark cave for one hundred days.
The two did as they were told, but it was not long before the tiger could endure no more and eventually ran out of the cave.
However, the bear endured, and after one hundred days it turned into a woman.
She eventually married Hwan-oong, and it is from this union that Dan-goon was born, who would later be the founder of the Korean nation.
This story pertains to achieving Truth as well in that only those who are like the bear can reach Truth.
It seems that those who are like the tiger are too cunning and clever and so they are unwilling to try or undergo starvation and hardships.
Only when it has had enough to eat will a silkworm begin the process of its metamorphosis,
whereby it must undergo four stages to fully transform – a timely ordeal.
After having eaten, it must crawl up a prop or stick in order to create its cocoon.
It is only when the silkworm in the cocoon dies completely, that it can be reborn as a moth,
and only then can this moth come out from its cocoon and lay its eggs.
This process and the Way to Truth are the same.
However, it seems that those in this world who are willing to patiently endure are too few.
– Woo Myung
REFLECT AT SANTA CLARA MEDITATION
At Santa Clara Meditation, practitioners reflect on how ancient stories contain timeless truths. 🌸
The bear’s endurance represents the inner stillness and patience required for spiritual rebirth.
To attain Truth, one must discard the cunning, restless mind symbolized by the tiger,
and embrace the quiet perseverance of the bear — dwelling in darkness until awakening dawns.
Like the silkworm’s transformation, the meditation method teaches us to die to the false self within the cocoon of the Universe,
and be reborn as the light of Truth, one with the eternal Heaven.
