(Clearwisdom.net) "I have never seen such an extraordinary performance before in my life" was my feeling when I was watching New Tang Dynasty TV's Global Chinese New Year Spectacular at Toronto Center for the Arts. As the purple curtain slowly raises up, accompanied by music from the Tianyin Orchestra, the dance "The Vows of Old" unfurls in front of the audience - an epic tale that took place in a Western paradise. The dance sends messages about the origin and meaning of life. A powerful remote voice echoes in the back, "When the great tribulation of the universe arrives, who is willing to follow the King, descend into the human world, rectify the Fa and rescue sentient beings?"
On the stage, gods who reign over different paradises make different choices. Gods who signed a vow take on the responsibility of rescuing sentient beings walk down toward the human world, step by step, amid admiration, praise and hope of sentient beings. At that moment, several nearby friends and I already had tears streaming down our faces.
In the dance "The Loyalty of Yue Fei," the melody of "Red, Red River" plays in the background while a scene of Tangyin County in South Song Dynasty appears on the backdrop. Yue Fei [a general and national hero during South Song Dynasty] trained soldiers in his hometown, and he was full of courage, propriety and wisdom.
When the Jin army invaded the South Song Dynasty and inflicted tremendous suffering on the people, Yue Fei enlisted in the military, responding to a call from the government. Yue Fei's mother was pleased at her son's outstanding strength, although a mother's love made Yue Fei's departure hard to bear. She put the country before herself however, and tattooed four characters, "Serve the country with loyalty" on her son's back. Yue Fei remembered his mother's teaching and defended the country and its people amid chaos and calamity.
I recalled Master's poem in my mind,
"On and on, the autumn rain falls like tears,
Every drop filling my heart with anguish;
I look about, but no one do I know in the town,
Several times has my village lain in ruin.
Here, then gone, eight hundred years race by,
And no one knows who I am;
I lower my head as I light several sticks of incense,
Their smoke drifts away, towards old acquaintances.
Turning back, my wish fulfilled,
I shall come again to help all return."
("Visiting my Hometown" from Hong Yin)
I gained a deeper understanding of the significance of recreating this part of Chinese history at the Chinese New Year Spectacular, and I deeply felt Master's vast and mighty Buddha graciousness. I deeply felt Master's implication in his words,
"The reason I have come here is to save all sentient beings amidst the Fa-rectification at a time when the colossal firmament of the cosmos is disintegrating." (Touring North America to Teach the Fa)
I could tell there were subtle changes in people's minds as the performance progressed. The compassionate call that radiated from the stage permeating the whole audience, and the shocking message "Falun Dafa is good" gradually set many people free from confusion and loss. An older couple sitting next to me clapped after every performance at first, but they stopped when they heard the message of "Falun Dafa is good." During the second half of the performance, however, they changed completely, as they responded to every program with warm applause. They often raised their hands in front of their chests while warmly clapping.
One middle-age woman who had recently come from Mainland China couldn't stop praising the performance after the show. She said she works in the field of literature, and has a good understanding of the arts. She said the entire show was original, flowed smoothly and was highly creative.
"Mulan" and "The Loyalty of Yue Fei," both household stories in the Chinese history, are presented with such moving intensity. "White Lotus on a Snow Mountain" and the "Mongolian Bowl Dance" were absolutely perfect, and last but not least, the dance of "Resounding Drum" was the climax that left the audience refreshed and deeply impressed.
Bai Xue's song "Finding the Truth" echoed in the air,
"So vast are heaven and earth,
Whither do people go?
Lost, the way is obscured.
Let truth be the compass.When disaster descends,
it favors neither rich nor poor,
but there is a way out,
quickly find the truth!"
The lyrics and music pounded people's hearts, and waves of energy bounced off the stage and moved the audience.
We believe from the depths of our hearts that this moving performance will eventually visit China, a grand stage where 5,000 years of history unfolded. We also believe the Chinese people and others who have awakened will personally experience the true essence of a culture passed down by gods and the truthful, historic existence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in the land of China.
