(Clearwisdom.net) The persecution of Falun Gong has lasted eight years, as have the experiences of Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted and exposing all bad things related to the persecution. Amid efforts to end the persecution, practitioners manifest steadfast belief in Dafa, validate the power of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," and walk on the path to godhood. Nevertheless, persecution is not a precondition for practitioners to cultivate during the Fa-rectification era or to validate the Fa. The persecution is something the old forces have imposed on us. We must completely destroy this! So far, most of the arts and literary works practitioners have created seem to accept the persecution as inevitable, as something that "ought to be," or even consider it the sole theme and main thread. That might give the impression that, without the persecution, Dafa would be somehow less magnificent and Dafa disciples somehow less worthy of respect and admiration. This kind of mindset is inappropriate. I feel it reflects a misunderstanding of our roles as being that offer salvation to sentient beings and cultivate during the Fa-rectification. I think it will leave regrets for the people that follow us with regard to validating the Fa.
It is not because of the persecution that people respect Dafa and Dafa disciples and like to listen to what Dafa disciples have to say. We do not need to be incarcerated , imprisoned in forced labor camps, or tortured as part of our cultivation. People respect Dafa and Dafa disciples because Dafa disciples can manifest Dafa's grandeur under all circumstances. They manifest wisdom, the supernormal, and the pure realms that "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" bring to life. Persecuted practitioners indeed have painful experiences. The persecution must be put to an end. We must expose the evilness of the CCP and use the facts of the persecution to clarify the truth, save sentient beings, and help fellow practitioners. Nonetheless, the victims of severe persecution who are incapable of extricating themselves from the tribulation do not represent the mainstream of Dafa disciples. This is especially so as it relates to the first two categories out of the three categories of people that comprise Dafa disciples that Master Li mentioned. Therefore, if we only focus on the aspect of the persecution in our literary and art works and lack other content and ideas, we will leave regrets behind.
This unprecedented evil persecution is a horror that Dafa disciples and the world's people will forever remember. Yet the number of practitioners being tightly constrained by the persecution over the long-term; (e.g. years of unlawful imprisonment or prolonged torture), or giving in to the evildoers under pressure, represents a small portion of the total number of practitioners. A lot of practitioners had been abducted and detained, but they soon matured based on the Fa principles. The evil forces do not dare to touch them again. In some other cases practitioners slacked off in their righteous thoughts, and the loophole was taken advantage of. But after practitioners became clearheaded and strengthened their righteous thoughts, they were no longer persecuted.
Thus, besides exposing the persecution, Dafa disciples' literary works, musical compositions, dance pieces, and paintings should positively and objectively manifest the brilliance, good future, and wonders that Dafa brings to sentient beings, and the goal and happiness of beings having obtained the Fa. We should not leave the impression that once one cultivates Dafa one will be persecuted, lose one's job, choose to become homeless, or even die from torture and the family broken up.
Of course we should avoid going to another extreme, i.e., always speaking of other dimensions and giving people the impression we are irrational and unrealistic. Despite the manifestation of the massive persecution and Dafa disciples having suffered losses and detours on their way to godhood, we can live happily, aided by the diamond-solid Dafa. We can then achieve selflessness, a broad mind, and mighty virtue from cultivation. We can live happily, without pursuing what other people do and fully realize the significance and value of life.
The above is my personal understanding. I wrote it simply to express my thoughts with practitioners interested in writing, composing music or creating fine arts.
