Cultivation Experiences Performing with the Divine Land Marching Band in Paris

On New Year’s Day of 2007, the Divine Land Marching Band was to perform in Paris. A fellow practitioner called me and asked if I would participate. There were only two weeks left and the band really needed some more supporters. I did not have any experience on any musical instrument, nor did I have a musical instrument, but the fellow practitioner said that I would get a drum in Paris.

When I arrived in Paris I learnt that we had only ordered six drums. We had seven people, so I had to practise with a stick on the table. Everything was difficult. However, I knew that a cultivator should not fear facing difficulty, and the most important thing was to have compassion and righteous thoughts, then all problems should be solved. Finally, it just out worked this way. Two days later I borrowed a drum from a fellow practitioner from Germany. Because there was a one-hour ride from the place I was staying to the point of assembly, and I had something important to bring with me, I asked a practitioner from Paris who was in charge of transporting the musical instruments to take care of my drum.

The next day we were to practise in a park. After I went to the park, I found that the French practitioner forgot to bring my drum. When I asked him what I should do, he answered that I would only be able to watch. However I did not agree to this, since we did not have any further chance to practise together. I held two pens and imagined that there was a drum in the air, and I practised with others. After a while, a French fellow practitioner said that there would be more drums coming in one hour. So I bought a drum.

On December 31st, 2006 we had two performances. I was suddenly interfered with by the evil; I thought in a way of ordinary people and worried that I would not perform well. After I marched for a while I felt pain in my legs, the drum was heavy and my shoulders ached more and more. I thought: "How can I get through the performance?" I started to send forth righteous thoughts and I saw thousands of people watching us on the street and they applauded along with the rhythm of the band. Then I said to myself: "It is so selfish to only think of my body; there are so many sentient beings waiting to be saved!" I immediately forgot my worry, and the pain and fatigue also disappeared. We focused on playing the drums. I felt that our band was really powerful. Looking at the surprised and happy faces around me, I burst into tears. When I relaxed and lost my attention, the drum became heavy and my shoulders started to ache again. I adjusted myself and sent forth righteous thoughts, and then the fatigue went away.

When the parade was almost over, I suddenly felt that the drum was weightless and it seemed to be hanging in the air. I was not tired at all. Some fellow practitioners felt extremely tired after the parade. I told them my experience and one of them said I should write down my experience.

Another understanding I have gained is that we should not have negative or critical thoughts, such as, "He does not play well and I don’t want to stand beside him." Instead we should have compassion, "He can play well and he can do it." We should regard our band as a whole body.

The next day we had two parades, in Chinatown and at the Eiffel Tower. Since the colour of the drum I bought was different from the one I borrowed from Sweden, I lent my drum to a French fellow practitioner who had two drums. We made an agreement that I would use the drum the next day, and he could take the drum after parade. The next day the French fellow practitioner forgot our agreement and lent his drum to another fellow practitioner. Because it was his fault, he gave me his drum. It was very important for me to perform in the band, but I felt that he also should perform and he played better than me. Later, we agreed that he would play in the morning and I would play in the afternoon. During the whole morning I distributed truth-clarification materials with the band uniform on. People were happy to accept the fliers. I went to a Chinese restaurant to hand out fliers to customers and the owner. They were very happy and asked me where I was from. Many people asked me with interest about what was going on and what band we were. I said that it was the parade of Falun Gong practitioners. In the afternoon, we performed in front of the Eiffel Tower and many people came to take pictures with us. They were very interested in our performance.

Finally we took a picture together in front of the Eiffel Tower and wished Teacher a happy New Year. We performed "Falun Dafa Is Good" and "Drums and Trumpets Shake the World in Ten Directions" several times. Many people watched us, and everybody in the band performed with their hearts fully into it. The loud music from every instrument spread to the boundless cosmos. Many Dafa practitioners’ eyes were filled with tears.