My Thoughts After Watching “Once We Were Divine”

(Minghui.org) After watching the free version of “Once We Were Divine” premiere, I purchased and watched the extended version the next day. It gave me a much deeper and better understanding of the content that was not clear to me after watching the first version. 

During the Prayer Conference scene, the Sage of the Seas (Haifeng in the human world) and Divine Phoenix (Xiaofeng in the human world) were late, so their hearts were restrained by the Heart-Locking Chain, making it difficult for them to become Falun Dafa practitioners later.

According to the movie, the following beings would be restrained by the Heart-Locking Chains: those who were late for the heavenly grand ceremony, those who lost their righteous minds (manifestating in the human world as rejecting the truth), and those who have strayed to the demonic way (who believe in communism). 

Initially I did not understand why someone who was late would be restrained by a Heart-Locking Chain. Then I realized that, even in this everyday society, people would not be intentionally late for anything of great importance. In fact, being late is the same as being disrespectful and unappreciative. For example, I am a teacher and I would never be late for my classes. 

This also reminded me of the importance of cultivation. For example, sometimes I was late for Dafa activities. This means I did not pay enough attention to them. In reality, it also means I did not respect or believe Master and Dafa. Another issue is that the two categories mentioned above (losing one's righteous mind and straying to the demonic side) referred to human beings who are in delusion. But the two characters in the movie (Sage of the Seas and Divine Phoenix) were divine beings and therefore clear about things, which made their misconduct difficult to forgive. This is similar to Dafa disciples who know the urgency of time, but do not cherish it. If we do not cultivate diligently and are unable to reach consummation at the end, the outcome might be just as horrible as for the character in the movie. 

According to the extended version of the movie, when Haifeng was lost in the human world, Wumi the Wise and Yu’er tried many ways to awaken his true self. These seemed to be trivial matters in the human world, but Haifeng was too deeply immersed in the human world to realize that these were hints from the divine.

Master taught us:
“It is because you are cultivating among everyday people. You will not be suddenly turned upside down with your head facing the ground, floating and suffering up in the air—it won’t be like that. Everything will assume the form of everyday situations, such as someone may have irritated you today, someone has upset you, someone has mistreated you, or someone suddenly speaks to you disrespectfully. It is to see how you will react to these issues.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun) 

In addition, Master mentioned in his lectures many times that nothing is accidental. So no matter what happens around us or how trivial it may seem, it is relevant to our cultivation. This could be another reminder for us to look within and get rid of our attachments.

I had many more understandings from this film, but I will not list them all. For example, in the film, Xiaofeng strengthened her righteous thoughts by studying the Dafa teachings and doing the exercises, and then her divine side came into play; this is one of my favorite parts.

My experience is that, when I improve my xinxing, my level will rise and my energy will increase. I didn’t pay much attention to sending forth righteous thoughts in the past. After watching the movie, I can stay focused much longer when I send righteous thoughts. I feel stronger energy and even my palms feel warm.

Another note is that, when watching the movie, we should also put our cell phone in silent mode to avoid disturbance; the larger the screen, the better the effect and the more powerful the impact. I used a projector and the result was excellent.

After watching the movie, I would recommend it to everyone since people come from different backgrounds, life experiences, and extent of enlightenment. Even if one does not understand the principles of the high realms, one can still watch it as a fable, know why we clarify the truth about the persecution, and understand the cruelty and evil of the persecution.

For fellow practitioners, I recommend the extended version. This movie covers a wide range of topics, spans a long time, and reveals a lofty realm that I have never seen before.

It will help us gain insights into cultivation, understand the process of Fa-rectification, and how to clarify the truth to all kinds of everyday people who are still uninformed.

Editor's note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare in studying, compare in cultivating.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)