These were some of the scenes that Chrisula Fillios, a former radio assistant producer of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), recalled when asked about her feelings on the Shen Yun performance at Capitol Theatre in Sydney on March 16.
“It was very beautiful that they showed the reality of the earth … [how] they’ve come from heaven for a special [mission] to help humanity come back to the Buddha, back to God, back to heaven.”
Ms. Fillios, who’s also a former Supreme Court judge’s associate, said it was dated back to ancient times when the Creator “sent the pure beings to help to lift up humanity, and then going through time, and then to present time.
“There were lovely little stories about people’s lives, people’s sufferings, people’s joy. But when it comes to the conclusion, I think that we try and practice to be kind, to be good.”
This kindness, she noted, was demonstrated in the piece in which a young man—disregarding his own safety—came back to save an injured policeman who persecuted him because of his spiritual faith.
“The young man still had compassion for him … he saw this fellow coming from not understanding and from pain,” Ms. Fillios said.
“But when the policeman started to understand and see that the [spiritual practitioner]—whom he was cruel to—still had humanity and compassion for him, his heart melted.
“It was a wonderful storyline.”
One aspect of this culture, according to the company’s website, is the noble tradition of artists drawing their creativity from connection with the divine. This tradition is followed by Shen Yun’s artists, whose source of inspiration is the spiritual discipline known as Falun Dafa.
Introduced in 1992 in China, the ancient meditation practice is rooted in the core tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.
“When you’ve got peace inside, then you can be peaceful with everybody. When you don’t have peace inside, you’ve got too much pain, and you’re not even aware of how you hurt people.”
What Shen Yun has done and portrayed was “very, very beautiful with a lot of heart and truth,” she added.
She also noted that people’s understanding of the performance “depends on each individual, and different individuals have their different religions.”
Reporting by NTD and Nina Nguyen.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
