My Thoughts After Watching “Once We Were Divine”

(Minghui.org) I recently watched the film “Once We Were Divine,” and I was deeply moved. 

The film’s structure, animation, and the actors’ skills are amazing. The purity and compassion in the film reflects a cultivators’ inner realm. The screening of this film is a demonstration of the Creator’s boundless grace towards his disciples and sentient beings during the last leg of Fa-rectification. 

From a cultivator’s standpoint, the film reveals many heavenly secrets. It perfectly interprets human history, cosmic law and the Creator’s immense compassion. It also reveals cultivation secrets in a clear, multi-dimensional way to us Falun Dafa practitioners who cultivate in the maze. This is Master’s boundless compassion. It also serves as a “stick warning” for those practitioners who may not have cultivated diligently, and can be motivated and encouraged by this film. 

This film also shows how important a cultivator’s thought is, which can determine his fruition status or whether he will even succeed. The thought of an everyday person on earth can also determine where he positions himself or if he will enter the future. 

I would like to demonstrate my point by discussing the three main characters in the film. They are The King of Light, Divine Phoenix and The Sage of the Seas. 

The King of Light

At the Congregation of Prayer to the Heavens, The King of Light made a pledge: “I shall descend to the earthly realm, uphold morality, slay the Red Dragon, and save sentient beings.” His pledge was powerful, pure, and compassionate, and was without any selfish thoughts. 

After he incarnated in the human realm, he chose to study Marxist Ideology in the history department at the university he attended, because he thought society was salvageable. He wanted to uphold morality which was sliding downward. His professor asked him to do research on the origin of Marxism. When he found that Karl Marx was actually a Satanist, he felt lost. He went to Qingguan Temple and hoped that the Deity could give him some guidance. 

The Deity indeed came. It was Daoist Qingfeng who was actually Wumi the Wise. Doaist Qingfeng gave him the book “Six Divine Prophecies.” Daoist Qingfeng used this book to guide The King of Light during his reincarnations and guided him to find Dafa, connect with his sacred destiny, and walk on the cultivation path – a bright path to return to his original self (The King of Light). 

When The King of Light was trapped by emotion and jealousy, his heavenly kingdom was also ruined by the fire of jealousy. The fire of jealousy in his heavenly realm stopped and his Kingdom of Light was restored to peace and serenity when he rectified himself by repeatedly reciting the following poem by Master and having this righteous thought: “I don’t want to be a wicked person; I want to be a benevolent person.”

“A wicked person is born of jealousy.Out of selfishness and anger he complains about unfairness towards himself. A benevolent person always has a heart of compassion.With no discontentment or hatred, he takes hardship as joy. An enlightened person has no attachments at all.He quietly observes the people of the world deluded by illusions.” (“Realms,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

When the guard in the prison tried to force him to sign the statement to stop practicing Falun Dafa, he couldn’t let go of his sentimental attachment to his wife and daughter and wavered in his belief. At that moment, his heavenly realm became windy, stormy, dark, and everything was about to be destroyed, and the beings in his world was to turned to stone. When he read Master’s the poem (see below) which his wife wrote on her palm, Master’s Fa gave him righteous thoughts and power. He became clear-headed and regained his righteous thoughts. Instantly his divine world became bright and beautiful again. 

“A Great Enlightened One fears no hardshipHaving forged an adamantine willFree of attachment to living or dyingHe walks the path of Fa-rectificationConfident and poised”(“Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions,” Hong Yin II)

As he lay on the operating table and his organs were about to be harvested, his first thought was to say good-bye to his wife and daughter. His main spirit left his body and he felt the brightness and warmth of the heavenly kingdom. He realized that he shouldn’t leave because he hadn’t completed his mission. This thought was selfless and he wished to help sentient beings. His righteous thought was a Fa order. The deities in his heavenly kingdom received his order and sent forth righteous thoughts to strengthen him. He opened his eyes and stared at the doctor who was about to cut him open. The doctor hesitated, and stepped back. In the human realm, the CCP head died, and the persecution failed. 

It was just as Master told us,

“So as a cultivator, what is truly remarkable is when you can be steadfast and have righteous thoughts so firm that nothing can sway you. Be solid and firm like diamond, or granite, and then nothing can affect you—evil will be afraid at the mere sight of you. If upon encountering trying circumstances your thinking can be truly righteous, then, when faced with the evil’s persecution and when faced with interference, just one sentence of yours fortified with steadfast righteous thoughts can instantly make the evil disintegrate (applause), and it will make those who are being used by the evil turn and flee, it will make the evil’s persecution of you dissolve, and it will make the evil’s interfering with you disappear without a trace. One thought born of righteous faith is all it takes. And whoever can hold firm to that righteous thought and go the distance will become a magnificent god forged by Dafa.”(“Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume VII)

Divine Phoenix

The Divine Phoenix in the Paradise of Light missed the prayer ceremony. She violated the heavenly rule. She pleaded to descend with The King of Light to assist in his mission and atone for her faults. Although her thoughts were not completely pure, she was sincere. But her true self was trapped by the Heart-Binding Chain due to the violation. In this dimension, she was given Zhuan Falun but she didn’t read it. She started to practice Falun Dafa because The King of Light did, but she didn’t genuinely cultivate herself. When the persecution started, she gave up cultivation due to fear. Gradually she followed society’s downward trend. 

Luckily she made a pre-arrangement and the Divine also looked after her. When she got lost, Yu’er in the Heaven reincarnated as her daughter and awakened Divine Phoenix’s true self. She started to practice Falun Dafa again and this time, she sincerely practiced. When The King of Light was undergoing tribulations, she gave him the greatest encouragement and support, and compensated for her fault through her actions. She assisted him, helped him succeed, and completed her vow. She reached the Fa requirements during the tests and entered into the new cosmos. 

The Sage of the Seas

The other main character in the film is The Sage of the Seas in the Paradise of Light. He is a tragic figure and represents the beings during the end times. He and Divine Phoenix were late and missed the ceremony of Prayers to Heavens, but he didn’t show any regret or feel guilty. 

When he heard that The King of Light was going to follow the Holy King’s descent, his first thought was that his success in this endeavor would bring unprecedented, great merit and he shouldn’t miss this opportune chance. His motive was selfish, and his initial thought determined the end result. No wonder Wumi the Wise looked worried when he heard what The Sage of the Seas said.

Life after life, The Sage of the Seas’ wish remained the same: “I just want to make a name for myself and not live my life in vain.” In this lifetime, he had the same wish. He joined the CCP, and vowed to devote his life to it. His goal was to get promoted, make a name for himself and become successful. In order to achieve this, he used every means possible, even betraying his friend. Driven by jealousy, he reported his friend to the police for practicing Falun Dafa and got him imprisoned. He was doomed by his actions – his final destruction. Actually this was decided by his initial unrighteous thought before he descended to earth. His thought determined his future. 

Buddha’s compassion is boundless, and the Sage of the Seas was constantly given opportunities. Wumi the Wise also gave him hints. If he listened to his friend, read Zhuan Falun or listened to the truth about the persecution, he might have a future. Unfortunately the Heart-Binding Chain trapped his true self. He was troubled by fame, personal interest, and emotions. He was deeply lost in the human world and pushed away the opportunities the Divines gave him. 

This film is great because it reveals many heavenly secrets of how human beings can cultivate into Divine beings. It reminds us that the Fa-rectification-period Dafa disciples whom countless Divine beings are watching, shoulder the hopes of sentient beings. Falun Dafa practitioners follow the Creator to rectify the Fa. We must cultivate ourselves, eliminate our selfishness and jealousy, achieve the realm of selflessness, and completely assimilate to the Fa before we can enter the new cosmos, and fulfill sentient beings’ hopes. 

[Note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare with one another in study, in cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)]