Taiwan Fahui | Upgrading My Xinxing While Learning Classical Chinese Dance

(Minghui.org)

Greetings, Master!Greetings, fellow practitioners!

I am learning classical Chinese dance at Taiwan’s Niao Song High School of the Arts. I would like to share some of my cultivation experiences and how my dance skills have improved.

Learning The True Meaning of Cultivation

Cultivating Falun Dafa has been a part of my life ever since I was young. My mother taught me how to recognize the Chinese characters in Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Dafa, when I was four years old. Thinking back now, I am extremely grateful to my mother for laying a foundation for my cultivation. 

My mother always shared her cultivation experiences with me when I attended primary school. But I always disliked studying the Fa and practicing the exercises. It always seemed like I was doing them as a formality. I was heavily contaminated by the big dye vat of ordinary society. I listened to pop music and cursed just so I could seem “normal” like the rest of my classmates. I was slowly breaking away from the principles of Dafa. I also argued with my mother and father when they reprimanded me. Deep down inside, I knew cultivating Falun Dafa was good, and I understood the true beauty of things. Despite all the contamination from the ordinary world and my bad habits, I had always wanted to study at Niao Song High School of the Arts.

I understood the true meaning of “cultivation” after attending Niao Song High School of the Arts. Studying the Fa and practicing the exercises cannot replace genuine cultivation. If I didn’t abide by Master’s requirements and did not take myself as a cultivator, wouldn’t I be like an ordinary person?

Upgrading My Xinxing Through Genuine Cultivation

Stretching is the key focus for a beginning dancer. My tendons and muscles were naturally stiff, so during the stretching sessions, my cries would be heard in the classroom every day. Flexibility is crucial for a dancer, and I knew I was still far away from reaching the standards. I did not know how long it was going to take me to reach those standards, and the future was a haze to me. However, during the process of upgrading my xinxing, I was able to let go of the attachment to being afraid of pain and fidgeting, and I began to see my flexibility improve. 

I twisted my toe when I was in tumbling and flipping class one day. I felt a surge of pain, but I managed to complete the class. My classmates reassured me when the class was over and suggested that I go see a doctor. My heart wavered after listening to my classmates. Would my toe injury worsen if I don’t go to a hospital? Will I still be able to dance in the future? On second thought, I realized this was a test for me. I disregarded the pain and told myself that I was okay. The pain gradually subsided after I paid no attention to it. I was able to resume dance classes. 

If I had gone to the hospital, the doctors might have diagnosed something worse. Every notion and thought is a test for a cultivator. One may encounter obstacles or make mistakes in cultivation, but one should get right up and continue walking on the path of cultivation.

I also had conflicts during my everyday life. I reprimanded my classmate, Ying, for being out of tune when she was singing. To my surprise, she got angry and said, “I was just singing for fun. Why do you care?” I was unable to hold back my anger and began quarreling with her. I started to tell all my friends that I was just kidding and did not understand why Ying had taken it so seriously. I felt satisfied after hearing that my friends were on my side.

My dance teacher called Ying and me over after hearing about our argument. My dance teacher pointed out my attachment, but I still pointed fingers at Ying for taking my comment too seriously. My dance teacher said that I was just as stubborn and often the problems we see in others also exist in ourselves. I realized that I had never looked inward during conflicts. I had been helping others look for their attachments and helping others cultivate all along. I felt remorseful and reminded myself to conduct myself as a cultivator at all times. 

I had a breakthrough in my dance skills during my last year of middle school. My classical Chinese dance skills inner form, bearing, dance techniques, and tumbling techniques had breakthroughs when I upgraded my xinxing. Prior to this I had experienced a low point because I could never get my dance movements right. I began to develop low self-esteem and was unable to accept suggestions from other people. I would accept corrections from my dance teacher on the surface, but never really wanted to get better. I also thought that I was doing the right movements whenever my dance teacher corrected me. I realized I had the attachment of not being able to take criticism and would get upset when others criticized me. I began to slowly eliminate this attachment and got rid of a lot of my bad habits. My dance skills displayed significant improvement as I upgraded my xinxing. 

Never Giving Up, Upgrading Xinxing, and Presenting Authentic Classical Dance

The school holds dance preliminaries and semi-finals every year to determine which students can represent the school in a county-level competition. I choreographed a dance and passed the preliminaries. The day before the semi-finals my dance teacher told me that I wouldn’t pass to the semi-finals because my dance had no structure. I would not perform on stage.

I was in tears and I did not know what to do. I had high hopes to compete, but I realized that everything happens for a reason. I found that I had an attachment to fame and profit.

Master said, 

“And yet they might be pleased with themselves, and delighted about it. They think that they’ve healed someone and people start calling them a “master.” But it should be obvious that it’s an attachment. The fact that they get visibly dejected when it doesn’t go well is a telltale sign that ego and money are motivating them.” (The Second Talk, Zhuan Falun)

The same principles apply to dancing. Does it really matter if I get selected to be in the competition or not? I need to let go of my ego and my attachments to fame and profit. What’s more important is that I am improving my dance skills. The improvement in my dance skills will be limited if I am bound by my attachments. 

The morning before the semi-finals, with the permission of my dance teacher, I decided to change my dance piece to Hua Mulan. (A legendary young woman from the Northern and Southern dynasties era of Chinese history, who took the place of her father to go to war.) I began to practice a completely new dance routine. I did not think much about it and only wanted to give it my best.

It was already challenging enough for me to learn a completely new dance routine, let alone perform it in front of all my dance teachers and classmates. I had a lot of pressure and practiced the new routine all day. I was tired but I knew I could not rest. Even while resting during the evening, I played the dance routine on the television to familiarize myself with the dance movements. 

I was shocked to find that I was selected to compete at the competition. I had been constantly taken aback by my teacher’s feedback. My dance teacher is very straightforward and tells me my problems directly. I knew this was because she knew that I could accept her feedback and also wished for me to improve in a short period of time.

After going through meticulous training, everyone seemed to have improved a lot within a short period of time. On the day of the competition, my dance teacher said, “All of what you have practiced for is for this moment, as you are to assist Master in Fa-rectification. Dance away and enjoy your moment on stage!” I seemed to have entered into Hua Mulan’s world as soon as I stepped onto the stage. 

I displayed Mulan’s filial piety to her father and loyalty to her country through genuine classical Chinese dance. Traditional Chinese moral values are also expressed through dance. I understood that I did not just take up dance classes based on my personal interests. I knew I had a historic mission to revive the traditional arts. I was not validating myself. Master had bestowed me with the ability to dance so that I can revive traditional culture and help bring out the compassionate side of sentient beings. 

Cultivating Away My Ego and Enhancing The Power of Cooperation

Attachments would reemerge multiple times after I thought I had already cultivated them away. Master would arrange for me to eliminate them each time. I had developed human notions during my years of dancing, and one of these notions was always wanting to be in the spotlight and to be placed at the center. I worked hard wanting to be in the middle, however, I realized that my “hard work” had started to become an attachment. My motive for dancing was not pure anymore. A student’s only duty is to work hard and what one accomplishes is bestowed by Master. Only with a pure heart can one display genuine classical Chinese dance. One should not strive to work hard for personal gain and profit. 

Niao Song Academy of the Arts holds dance recitals each year. These dance recitals bring everyone’s hearts together. There was a Mongolian bowl dance this year with 10 dancers, including myself. This dance left a deep impression on me. 

Another dancer in the Mongolian bowl dance accidentally broke her bowls while waiting in the wings of the theater. She was unable to come back on stage and our dance formation fell short by one person. I started to get anxious and scared while dancing on stage. My bowls fell on the stage and before I could react, my teammates said, “Don’t worry! Keep going.” Therefore with good team work, the nine remaining dancers filled the empty spot and the audience members were unable to detect any mistake. This left a deep impression on me. Regardless of whether we are on stage or off stage, everyone works together as a whole to strive for the best on stage. 

We had a cultivation sharing one time during class. My dance teacher began pointing out everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. The teacher stated that I was always very hardworking but rarely care about or help any of my classmates. I looked inward for a long time and realized that I only practiced so I could improve and I had disregarded helping others. I started to have a breakthrough and began helping my classmates. I also used my personal experiences to help them get better at dancing. As soon as my mentality changed for the better, the environment around me also changed. My classmates began helping each other. Everyone had only practiced for themselves in the past. After offering to help, I found that I got far more than what I gave! It’s no longer just about how well you can dance, it is also about improving together as a whole.

Enlightenment on Getting Rid of Jealousy

Jealousy often surfaces during our daily lives. In the past I had always had thoughts like, “I have been practicing so hard, but why do those who don’t practice as much get praise from the teacher?” Many of my other classmates had the same thoughts and we began to think that the teacher was biased. 

Master said, 

“People nowadays get terribly envious when someone shares his or her good news. When a person gets accolades at work, or something good happens to him, he won’t say a word about it when he returns to his desk lest others find out and get upset over it.” (The Seventh Talk, Zhuan Falun)

I would get jealous whenever others were praised. It was hard for me to eliminate this attachment. When I had thought the attachment was eliminated, it would resurface again when I encountered conflicts. I began to develop low self-esteem because my cultivation was lacking. I would attempt to hide this attachment and then realized this was not right either. Not only was I unable to truly eliminate the attachment of jealousy, I began to develop the attachment to saving face and was afraid of people knowing that my cultivation was lacking. I was overly concerned about what others thought of me.

Master said,

“Yet, with or without seeing, an exceptional person can depend on his enlightening to reach Consummation.” (“Why One Cannot See,” Essentials for Further Advancement) 

Isn’t this part of improving unknowingly during the process of cultivation? I needed to let go of human attachments to “...let things happen naturally.” (Lecture Given at the Conference in Sydney)

Conclusion

I have fallen many times during tribulations, and getting back up was challenging for me. But I am always very grateful to Master for arranging these tests so I can find many hidden attachments. I have felt less burdened each time after passing a test. I will hold firmly to my faith in Master and Dafa and walk well on the path that remains.

Please point out anything inappropriate.

Thank you, Master!Thank you, fellow practitioners!

(Presented at the 2022 Taiwan Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)