My Other Lives…

I wonder if reincarnation is real. Did I have another life some other time? Was I one of
the first Koreans, in the time of Tangun? Maybe I was on of Genghis Khan’s soldiers,
conquering most of the worlds? Maybe I helped King Sejong devise the Korean alphabet.
Or maybe I made the Sphinx or signed the Magna Carta.
Have I ever been a monk? A mother? Was I ever famous? Did I ever live non-human
life? I wonder what it would be like to be a fish or a plant. Maybe I even lived on some
other planet! If only there were some way of remembering all these experiences so I
could use them now and in the future, in other exotic existences.

Key Words : (make these words in a sentence)

reincarnation
conquering
devise
monk
famous
non-human
exotic

Comprehension :
1. Does the writer believe in reincarnation or not? How can you tell?
2. Does he think reincarnation is limited to human lives? Limited to Earth?
3. Does he think living many lives should have a purpose?

Discussion Points :
1. What do you think about reincarnation? Is it real or imaginary?
2. If you could choose to live in another time, when would it be? Where?
3. Is reincarnation some sort of moral judgment? Should each reincarnation be some
sort of reward or punishment for how you lived your last life?
4. What other purposes could reincarnation have, if it actually happened?
5. If reincarnation is not real, why do you think people invented the idea?
6. Does living another life appeal to you, or does the notion make you afraid?
Opinion Samples :
1. No evidence exists that reincarnation exists or is even possible. People want to
believe that they are somehow special and their soul 9whatever that is) will live forever,
in some form or other. So some believe in a personal eternity, in some sort of afterlife;
and others believe in perpetual rebirth. But both of these beliefs are just a matter of
wish-fulfillment. The sad truth is that we get one chance to live our lives, and one only,
so we should all do it right the first time.

2. On the other hand, reincarnation would give me a second chance to live a good life. So
if I made mistakes this time around, maybe I could do better next time. On the other hand,
I could also do worse in the other life. Perhaps the one I have now is really the very best
one I will ever have, and instead of going forward toward perfection I would just keep on
in the other direction. It would never end I would just travel through eternity in ever more
wretched conditions. Or maybe, no matter who I was next time and the times after that, I
would stay about the same, with similar character, intelligence, personality, and so forth.
So maybe reincarnation would not make any difference.