PureInsight | July 5, 2004
[PureInsight.org]
The Story of our Chorus "Coming for You"
In November of 2003, shortly before the Berlin European Fa conference, the European Dafa Association discussed the coming Chinese New Year's Gala, to be organized by NTDTV in New York. We raised the question as to how European practitioners could contribute to the truth clarification of the many poisoned Chinese.
I was asked about the possibility of organizing a European Dafa Choir. At that time we had only two months before the scheduled performance in New York. It is my understanding that through Dafa the "Impossible is Possible." Therefore, we should do our best.
Enthusiasm for this type of truth telling was high among practitioners, not withstanding all the other activities, once they heard the news during the Berlin conference, at the end of November 2003. We chose the song "Wei Ni Er Lai" or "Coming for You." This song holds the heart of all practitioners, as in its deepest form it speaks to China's deeply poisoned people, and reaches them through the obstruction of the campaign of lies that has spread throughout China. All practitioners who heard about it enthusiastically accepted this song, which in its deepest form contains the truth of the persecution of Falun Gong.
Putting Dafa First
To be frank, it was quite difficult to bring about a decision right out of "the blue." To assure success I had to be very innovative, given the many different situations that came up.
I saw clearly the attachment of fear within me. For example, I had to find a youth hostel for 130 practitioners, although I had no clue as to how many would actually be there. I felt fear for those who would book a flight, spent the money and then found out during the audition that they were not one of the chosen ones. Yet, it turned out that the booking was perfect and the early booking of the hostel was the best decision I could have made.
Taking part in the arrangements for the choir also showed me another deep-seated attachment. I learned in my childhood to totally ignore any false accusations. I learned that only bad children would do something like this. This attachment has been part of me throughout my life. My lesson in this was that I would, though not logically, draw a real ill-founded conclusion about the false accusations. Now I understand that it is not wrong, when wrongly accused, to view such false accusations with a clear and open mind. This helps to reduce tension in a group setting, and it raises mutual appreciation.
The Sincere and Compassionate View of Dafa Disciples is Displayed
On the evening of New Year's Day 2004, the practitioners arrived on time for our first choir meeting in the Ruedesheim am Rhein hostel. The view from the powder-snow covered Kreuzberg to the hills on the other sight of the Rhine was breathtaking. There were 130 people from 13 nations, spending four days together. There were opposing opinions about the fastest way to become a choir worthy of Dafa. Some wanted to immediately begin with the singing practice, because the time was much too short. We finally agreed to intersperse the singing with Fa-study. This created a pure and harmonious environment.
Then we had arguments about the best and fastest methods. Certain practitioners emphasized quite vigorously their point of view. Listening to others' opinions was rather difficult. Everyone realized that "One should take a step back because the sky is boundless and the sea is vast," which played a part in the continued harmonic environment. The differing approaches and views actually were responsible for the quick progress by the choir.
Constant challenges resolved themselves because of the great support among the practitioners. We must be honest in saying that without all those who were selfless and quietly took care of all obstacles, there would be no European Choir.
One Body, One Voice
The manager of the hostel remarked after four days of intensive rehearsal, that a miracle had happened with regards to our singing. Our choir was chosen to perform in New York by those in the TV station with that responsibility. Shortly afterwards, we were told by a practitioner who had spoken with those in charge in New York that we were no longer welcome. Actually, some of those in charge were not really confident in our ability to perform.
After arriving in New York, we were told of some changes on the day of the concert. The choir was actually meant to perform without an orchestra. Suddenly we were told that an orchestra would perform with us. We agreed immediately to go and listen to the orchestra. Unfortunately, the harmonization with the orchestra left much to be desired. We gave our opinion to those in charge in New York. A few hours before the performance we were told that we could perform without the orchestra. We know that the pure heart of the choir members were responsible for that, thanks to Master.
Then the day of our performance arrived. We were already at the theater in the afternoon and had to share the dressing room with many other performers. We had no space for ourselves. Some of the performers shared a small room that also served as a refreshment room. Every choir member had to fend for him or herself. I noticed that many of the practitioners took the initiative to study the Fa during their free time.
After the dress rehearsal, in a beautiful, large classical style concert hall holding 2,500 people, we gave our first performance. Although we suffered from a little tension, our hearts sang with the message of "Wei Ni Er Lei" or "Coming from Far Away, Precious Chinese People – See the Truth Behind those Lies – Falun Dafa is Great." During our performance, people enthusiastically applauded us while we sang. Many in the audience had tears in their eyes. I knew then that we achieved what we set out to do. We reached the heart of the people.
The impossible can be accomplished in Dafa and under the boundless grace of Master.
