(Clearwisdom.net) Many years ago I met an old classmate from China in a subway station in Europe. He told me he was heading home from a church. When I asked him if he indeed believed in God he answered, "No, but it's quite eventful there. I would have felt rather lonesome otherwise." As if stung by his words I thought, "Why can't we have some art and cultural events to attract Chinese people for truth-clarification?"
During our annual meeting on that New Year's eve, practitioners sang "De Du" together, the first Dafa song we had ever sung together. It was a world of snow and ice outside, but in that room we felt as if it was springtime as we sang the song over and over again. My hard life and fatigue, as well as being not diligent in cultivation practice during the harsh persecution at the onset of my cultivation, had stressed my life. I thought that practitioners were being too zealous! But I soon realized something, "Could it be said that we do not have a kind of new cultural environment among our cultivators? What a powerful, encouraging force the song is for us, to continue steadfastly assisting Teacher in Fa-rectification under this severe environment!"
In January 2004, I participated in the grand parade in Paris, France. I was so fortunate to stand on top of the float so I could see many Chinese people in the audience were watching us with their eyes wide open while other practitioners were singing and dancing. The Chinese people had curiosity or shock written on their faces. Obviously it was the first time they had experienced a righteous new form of culture, and they were deeply touched by it. They looked as if thinking, "It turns out Falun Gong can do more than just march and protest. They can also sing and dance and are quite gifted in many ways." They accepted the truth-clarification materials offered by practitioners and peeked at them while scanning our parade. I suddenly understood that they could truly benefit from the new display of pure culture.
As a matter of fact, it was quite a simple thing. Overseas Chinese, while living in China, were brought up under the Party culture and nurtured by the Party's vulgar entertainment. When they leave their familiar environments and families and come to a different country, experiencing loneliness is inevitable. It's unlikely that the new country’s government and culture are something they're familiar with, nor do they have any spiritual beliefs, so where can they find peace of mind? In this extreme psychological void, to overcome the feeling of homesickness, they chose to tune in to Party TV programs that are broadcast overseas, sing its karaoke, and participate in overseas recreational activities lumped together under the heading "cultural exchange," organized by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is easy to imagine what they think of practitioners until they see or hear about the brutal persecution facts from us. We must not forget that their minds have been poisoned for so long by Party propaganda and that the lives they are now experiencing are in huge contrast to their previous lives. It is difficult for them to accept the true facts that we tell them. We should create a new cultural atmosphere for them, one they will find familiar and might even become proud of, so that they will join with us in their feelings about China and not with the evil, false Party culture and its power.
Over the years, we expended all kinds of efforts in truth-clarification. The efforts though, were limited, and restricted to small-scale and local activities. We have held large-scale cultural activities, but they were also limited. In addition, the cultural topics and types of art performances were very limited. This has been due to our financial situation. But I have noticed that fellow practitioners' understanding of clarifying the truth using different ways and means has lagged behind, in that typically we won't realize the importance of something, or want to do something new until after Teacher has discussed it. Otherwise, only a small number of practitioners will consider something new. When some of these very few practitioners want to do it, they encounter man-made obstacles that shouldn't exist.
In addition, the Party has distorted almost all of the performing arts. If we do not correct this, what does it mean for the sentient beings engaging in performing arts? Isn't it a horrible situation?
As the process of Fa-rectification progresses, I believe more and more popular performing art forms and groups will develop, formed by our current Dafa practitioners. Every single Dafa-originated performance art or group may not require others to participate. We can only solve the coordination/cooperation issues by working harmoniously together instead of all "looking for answers" from Teacher every time. Solving the cooperation issues often requires yielding to one's own ego.
I strongly believe that only by working together like this can there be a true one-body, can one sense "wholeheartedness," can one look inside while not avoiding problems and therefore create a new, positive and active atmosphere of cultivation. Perhaps all Dafa performing groups can in the near future take advantage of the location and time and hold art practice together, so that the practitioners who can participate in several art forms can take care of more things at one time. In the meantime, the harmony among every art group will further improve Dafa practitioners' power as one body. Perhaps some surprisingly new forms of performance art will emerge, which is refreshing. You must know that sentient beings are longing for something fresh and new from us!
This is my personal understanding. It may sound less than serious, but I just wanted to share these ideas with my fellow practitioners.