(Clearwisdom.net) A group of practitioners, including myself, are in the middle of filming a truth-clarification movie in Taiwan. The movie describes many of the efforts practitioners have undertaken since Jiang Zemin and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to ban Falun Gong in 1999. The movie requires a large number of extras. We have to finish filming each of the scenes in just over 2 weeks, and since most practitioners do not have any experience acting, one can easily imagine the magnitude of challenges we face.
On the first day of filming, I arrived on the scene prepared to work as an extra for one day and to thereby conclude my contribution to the film. However, later in the day the director told us that we were going to film outdoor scenes the next day starting at 5:00 A.M. but she couldn't find anyone who knew how to drive the large trailer van. At first, I didn't want to admit that I could drive the large trailer van, but at that late hour, where could the director find someone else who could? We looked at each other helplessly for a while. Finally I decided there was no escaping my fate, so I rose to the occasion most reluctantly and said, "Fine. I will drive the van." For the two days of filming outdoor scenes, I had only one thing in mind: "I rose to the occasion solely because no one else can do it." I was feeling very reluctant. I felt I had been pressured into fulfilling the duty.
Only When We Enhance our Xinxing to Meet the Fa's Requirements at Different Levels Can We Do Truth-Clarification Work Well
During the next two days working as the van driver, I observed my fellow practitioners closely. I was profoundly moved by their complete dedication, including the extras. They worked hard and seriously. Although the filming began at dusk and ended at the next day's dusk, no one complained. But I was different from them. I had a bad attitude. I just wanted to get the whole thing over with as fast as possible.
I felt ashamed of myself and began to look inward. I realized that each time I volunteered to be responsible for a large truth-clarification project, I would think, "It is all because no other practitioner wanted to do it that I have to step up to the plate!" I also realized that it was Teacher that had given me the opportunity to drive the van, and the opportunity to notice the disparity between the dedicated fellow practitioners and me.
Although I have done some Dafa work and although I might have established some mighty virtue along the way, I have not enhanced my xinxing level to meet the Fa's requirement in those projects. In addition, I always kept complaining that I was all alone with no fellow practitioner there to help me out. Each time I would complete the work reluctantly and full of complaints. This is why I have failed to upgrade my xinxing level for a long time. Because of my grumpy mood, my efficiency was significantly compromised. Sometimes my foul mood would even cause jeopardize other fellow practitioners' work efficiency.
I finally came to the conclusion that Teacher must be very efficient in allocating human resources in each Fa-rectification project. If it requires one practitioner to do the work, Teacher will not arrange for two. Therefore, when Teacher arranges for us to do something, we must not wait for or depend on other practitioners' help! We just need to meet the requirements of the Fa at different levels to do the work well. When we fail to do that, we will fall into a foul mood, complain about the lack of help from fellow practitioners, and reduce our efficiency. If we are able to meet the Fa's requirements when we do the truth-clarification work, we will be in a pleasant mood, improve our work efficiency and even complement and harmonize with fellow practitioners' work.
It is Cultivation, not Work
During the filming process, we constantly had to stay up until way past midnight. Then we could only rest for a couple of hours because we had to get up at sunrise to continue the filming. Besides driving, I was responsible for contacting all actors and for keeping records. The director, the record keeper, and the cinematographer seemed to have the most demanding jobs because they had to be present during the shooting of every single scene from the beginning to the end. Actors could take breaks when they did not have any parts in the scene that was being filmed. I was exhausted. The physical work was not the hardest part. The xinxing tests in the middle of the demanding work were the things that really challenged us. The light effects man failed to show up even though he had promised to come. We did not know where to find movie extras needed for the next day's filming. There were always unexpected challenges that could cause great anxiety. Many different kinds of unexpected accidents ruined our original plans and we had to solve new problems as they occurred in order to continue the filming.
In the later part of the filming process, the conflicts between fellow practitioners became extremely intense. We realized that our cultivation state as a whole was deteriorating because we had slacked off on our Fa study. Then we began to squeeze in time to study the Fa, practice the Falun Gong exercises, and exchange cultivation experiences. It was not until then that we began to truly cultivate instead of treating it merely as work. Gradually we improved our cultivation state. Under the high level of pressure and under the many trials and tribulations, if we failed to upgrade our xinxing levels to meet the Fa's requirements at different levels, we would find every day becoming more and more difficult.
We studied the Fa no matter how busy we were
Inside News of the Filming Process
The actors in this film came from all over the place. Although none of them are professional actors, all of them gave professional performances. Everyone got the script shortly before the filming began. Even the leading actress did not receive the complete script until two days before the filming began and agreed to take up the challenge the day before the filming began. Besides, she did not have any acting experience at all. But when I was doing a dialogue with her, she became the character immediately. I have a lot of admiration for her excellent performance.
The child actress Zhen Zhen was a natural. She was able to do whatever the director required. However, she was young and had a short attention span. Being a youngster, she was also unable to endure the level of hardship that we adults could endure. In one scene, she was supposed to sit next to the lake listening to the leading actress playing the flute. She had difficulty getting into her character. She kept glancing around and even looked directly at the camera. She also failed to show the proper facial expression. We kept repeating the scene over and over again. Then Zhen Zhen suddenly was able to listen to the leading actress playing the flute with a concentrated, natural look. When we finished filming the scene, we asked Zhen Zhen why she had gotten into the scene so quickly. It turned out that during the filming she saw with her Celestial Eye that the leading actress had become a very beautiful goddess in gorgeous clothes playing the flute to her on a lotus.
At first Zhen Zhen was not cooperating and even looked directly at the camera
When Zhen Zhen had a Celestial vision, she gave a very natural performance
The following are some of the photos of the film. The filming of the movie in Taiwan has been completed. The other scenes will be completed shortly elsewhere. You will be able to watch the film in the near future.
Scene re-enacting the "April 25" appeal outside the Appeals Office in Beijing
Scene: the leading actress Ding Yan practicing Falun Gong
Scene re-enacting the Fa conference in Guangzhou
Scene shows the wife and daughter left behind when a practitioner was tortured to death
Scene: Depraved Chinese policemen savagely beating a female Falun Gong practitioner
Scene: A female Falun Gong practitioner is incarcerated in a water dungeon full of stench
First published in English at http://www.pureinsight.org/pi/articles/2005/7/18/3161p.html
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Category: Young Practitioners' Experiences
