My Experiences While Watching Shen Yun

(Minghui.org) I never had a high opinion of traditional art. Whenever anyone mentioned music or performances, I immediately thought of modern singers and spectators screaming during their concerts.

When I saw a DVD of the NTD Television New Year Gala in 2006, I was touched by the kindness and beauty I saw in the performances. It was a unique feeling--I realized that dance could be deeply moving and that music could nurture the mind.

In 2007, I attended a Shen Yun performance in Vancouver, Canada, and I’ve seen Shen Yun every year since then. My outlook on life changed dramatically. I was seriously polluted by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture. Through Shen Yun’s performances, the traditional values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are no longer abstract; they are vividly presented on stage. Through the performances, I now understand the gifts the divine is giving to mankind.

One Shen Yun artist said that a dancer’s techniques, culture, and belief reflect the three realms of the arts: sensibility, rationality, and spirituality. While watching Shen Yun over the years, I felt my understanding of divine culture gradually change and become a spiritual awakening.

In the beginning, I was touched by the artists' superb skills and outstanding expressiveness. I was in tears when I watched the show. I felt how profound China’s five thousand-year civilization is; I could feel the importance of loyalty, filial piety, and kindness, and the challenges of adhering to these principles. Through Shen Yun, I heard a call from the bottom of my heart that transcended history. A deeply hidden me awakened—one who had no human notions or bad thoughts, and I was bathed in the divine’s boundless compassion and peace.

Inspired to Be a Good Person

Through Shen Yun, I no longer felt the divine and Buddhas were remote. I wished to be kind and have compassion for all beings. Instead of worrying about being taken advantage of for being a good person, I started to change. I felt I'd awakened from a long, confused dream.

Whenever I felt misunderstood, I remembered a Shen Yun performance I saw years ago. A young unmarried woman had a child and everyone assumed an old monk was the father. The monk took the child and raised him well. Facing all kinds of mockery and humiliation, the monk was not disturbed; nor did he defend himself. Years later, the child’s father passed the Imperial Exam and became an official. He married the woman and they came for the child. People stopped criticizing and gossiping about the monk. The old monk did not feel unfairly treated or abandon the child. Instead, he taught the child to be good and did not ask the couple for any compensation for caring for their son. It was as if he completed a task, resolved a karmic relationship, and continued walking on his spiritual path.

Many of Shen Yun’s stories explain the principles of “Good is rewarded, while evil is punished.” At first, I felt relieved and even happy when I saw bad people punished. I later had pity for them because they made bad choices and harmed themselves. I also reminded myself to think twice before I did anything—I should empathize with others and be considerate of them. For example, when I saw a mother who chose money over conscience finally being punished by a Taoist, I felt bad for her and the consequences she incurred.

One performance showed an accomplished general who left the battlefield and turned to Buddha. He resisted temptation, followed his master, and consummated. I found this very helpful when I didn’t know how to handle an issue. When I sent forth righteous thoughts, I decided to let go of selfishness and only listen to Master. As soon as I had that thought, I heard, “Only by adhering to kindness can one see hope.” My heart immediately lightened and my anxiety disappeared. The insights I had through this performance also helped me handle many other challenges.

Some performances helped me gain a better understanding of family life. Women were gentle, virtuous, tolerant, and had inner strength. They quietly safeguarded the family without complaint. Through these performances, I saw my degenerated notions that came from modern society. My ego and selfishness gradually faded, and I understood romantic love between a man and woman is not the true purpose of marriage. Rather, a couple should support each other, grow, and together walk their journey of returning to the divine.

Some folk dances also helped me see the karmic relationship between people, reminding me to cherish what I have and to work well with others. When I saw a program about a Taoist in the Wudang Mountains, the changes in the dance formations showed me another dimension and I saw Tai Chi transform. The special feeling was beyond words.

During a women’s dance, I saw heavenly girls scattering flowers; when the divine appeared on the stage, the entire theater became a heavenly palace. Countless divine beings and lords knelt on the jade stairs and thanked the Creator for his grace.

One year, I attended the performances given by three Shen Yun companies. During the performances, I felt I was transported to different dimensions, and I could feel the Creator’s enormous compassion. The same music was played by different artists and had different manifestations—but all of them were strengthened by the Creator’s compassion.

During the first group’s erhu solo, I saw the musical notes dance and they paved a golden path that pierced through the darkness to the sky. The path was lined with enormous Falun (law wheels). The higher the path went, the brighter it became and the Creator waited at the end. The path was surrounded by golden music notes and smaller Falun that glowed with a soft light. The musical notes were living beings—they all moved around and some flew.

During the erhu performance of the second tour group, I saw a gigantic white column of light rising on the stage, which enveloped the erhu soloist and the pianist. The color was special and clear, with a soft golden halo. Countless musical notes moved in a pattern. Some of them came together. Some formed a double helix and continued growing higher and brighter. Many round bubbles formed and rose up. Countless beings were formed and they were too many to count. It was clearest and brightest at the top, where there was a gigantic Falun, surrounded by many musical notes, other beings, and cosmic bodies.

The erhu performance of the third tour group was also the last Shen Yun performance of that season. The tickets were sold out and I stood at the back of the theater. I felt a pair of gigantic wings carried upward, going through the darkness, and I saw the golden body of the Creator surrounded by a soft golden light and boundless compassion. The Creator’s body extended so far and high that I could not see the top of his head. The theater was filled with compassion and all beings were bathed in it. My feelings of peace and happiness were beyond words. In this strong energy field of compassion, all worries in the human world were gone and were replaced with happiness and gratitude for salvation.

Many audience members said they could feel the Creator’s grace through Shen Yun’s performances. My experiences have shown me where I belong, made me reflect on choosing between good and evil, and have a deeper understanding of why we’re here.