(Clearwisdom.net) As soon as the first song written by Dafa practitioners appeared on Minghui Net, we Sydney Dafa practitioners discussed the issue amongst ourselves. We realized music and song are alternate forms of validating Dafa and in keeping with the current celestial changes. Anything that's righteous and graceful could be used to verify Dafa. Pleasant music could touch people's hearts, promote people's kindness, and help people understand more about Falun Dafa and us. The music and songs composed and performed by Dafa practitioners are infused with practitioners' understanding of Dafa. Non-practitioners can feel the power of Dafa through our beautiful voices. Pleasant songs are a good way to show the beauty of Dafa to people. Volunteers therefore formed the Sydney Dafa Practitioner's Chorus.
In the beginning, almost all of us were untrained. Knowing no techniques for singing, our vocal cords quickly became painful. We lacked performance experience, and it showed. Our performance at the first world Falun Dafa day (May 13, 2000) was not satisfactory, but we were not discouraged. We knew our songs carried the power to bring out people's kindness, so, in order to save people, we would continue to try our best.
In Touring North America to Teach the Fa, our teacher said, "Everyday people can come to listen to our performances--we're saving all beings." The songs we sing should be open to society. By hearing our songs, audiences can be influenced by their artistic appeal, by the peaceful and graceful qualities of Dafa practitioners, and their righteous thoughts and belief in Dafa. They will see the beauty of Dafa through our singing.
Later we took part in various performances including some in the Chinatown, and experienced some moving stories. One senior used to be very cold to us; he never took our Dafa truth materials before. But that day he watched our performances from beginning to end, and applauded after each of our songs. He told us: "You are so good, there is no reason that China [Jiang's regime] should persecute you. I'll tell the people from the consulate when I meet with them." One viewer told us: "I am surprised to find that there are so many handsome and talented young people who know dancing and singing amongst your Falun Dafa practitioners, including some who are highly educated."
Another audience member asked us: "Your level is pretty high, but since you are not professionals, how do you find time to practice?" We told him: "We do not have much time to practice. We are singing with our hearts." After listening to our singing, one westerner told us, "I cannot understand the words in your songs, but your singing is full of peace and is pleasant to hear, I felt like I found something long missed." One visitor from China told us, "It's unbelievable that Falun Gong practitioners could compose such good music and songs." Another one said the words in the songs were so good that he wanted to bring them back to China, so the songs could be spread there as well.
A friend of a local practitioner used to refuse any Falun Gong related materials offered to him, but after hearing the songs "De Du (Be Saved)", "Ming Si (Thinking Clearly)", he took the initiative to ask for a copy of Zhuan Falun to read. The child another practitioner's friend learned to sing, "Falun Dafa is good" after hearing the song. Later the child caught a cold but recovered in two days. Since he used to recover only after two or three weeks each time he had had a cold in the past, this made his mother very curious, and she asked Dafa practitioners what kind of song it was, and she borrowed a copy of Zhuan Falun to read.
A chorus is one unit and the quality of the singing reflects the Xinxing [the nature of the mind or the heart, moral character] of the whole group. When all the members of the group sing with their hearts and are very cooperative, the singing is very beautiful, and all feel that they are inside a huge energy field. The conductor can see the whole group inside a transparent bubble while his hands float. Passersby were also attracted by the singing. However, in the cases of being disturbed, or having not paid attention, the singing would be out of sync, and audience members would just come and leave again. Since public performances are serious issues, we should pay our highest attention to singing with our hearts, in order to show the good manner of Dafa practitioners to all people.
In the process of practice and performances, different tests also appeared before us, such as how to balance practice time and family issues, the distance to the practice site being too far, schedule conflicts between choir practice, Fa study, and work. Also, some practitioners sometimes disagreed with some song lyrics, etc. After a period of performance and Fa study, we realized that music and songs are forms we use to show the truth of Dafa to people. It's not like an ordinary job. It's part of our cultivation. We should follow the teachings of Dafa in all the cases.
As mentioned in the Clearwisdom.net editorial "To Fellow practitioners":
Only with huge compassion and kindness, by always putting others' benefits before ourselves, could one not confine oneself to one's own thoughts only, could one take care of everything calmly, reasonably, and with wisdom, and could one be really responsible to Dafa. We also realized that coordination between Dafa practitioners comes from our determination. It's a harmonious state based upon our kindness and our understanding of Dafa. Every activity is a naturally arranged combination among Dafa practitioners based on every practitioner's willingness to contribute or sacrifice. So we should always be unselfish, always think about others, and look at the global situation with the intention of fulfilling each task together. During one performance in Canberra, we focused too much on the performance itself, and ignored verifying the truth of Dafa to Chinese people. Later by self-examination, we realized that the performance itself is not our purpose; saving people is our mission.
As a group, we frequently communicate with each other from the viewpoint of Dafa. Together we decide whether or not we should sing a certain song from the viewpoints of both the artistic quality and Dafa. We also asked for the help of professionals to improve our techniques. In this way, more and more people will be introduced to Dafa by listening to our music and songs.
When we sing a song in public with pure and righteous hearts, we can feel our singing voices transcending this dimension and entering into a beautiful realm. Let's try our best through our artistic performance to reflect the compassion of enlightened beings, to show the dignity of Dafa practitioners, and the grace of Truth, Compassion, Tolerance.
November 17, 2002