By Pu Tianlu

(Clearwisdom.net) Xiu Yue is one of the Dafa practitioners who have written a number of songs. The recently published collection of sheet music, Celestial Melody, includes ten songs composed by her. She talked about her experiences, understandings and the relationship between music and health, during her interview with Pu Tianlu, a reporter for the Epoch Times.

Music from One's Heart

"Be Saved" is Xiuyue's first music creation. It was also the first song in the Celestial Melody collection. She talked about how the song was first created during the interview:

"I majored in Music History and specialized in an ancient musical instrument called guzheng (or Chinese harp) in college. I created this song because of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China that started in 1999. I wanted to tell people how good Falun Dafa is. Falun Dafa has saved so many people and has such a benevolent teacher in Master Li Hongzhi. I wanted to use songs to express my inner feelings. When I read the lyrics written by a Dafa practitioner from the island of Saipan, the music just came out of my heart naturally. It only took me less than an hour from the moment I first read the lyrics to the time I finished composing this song. I felt the words from the lyrics reflected my innermost feelings: 'We have fallen to this maze. Helpless, lost, can't find the way. Searching thousands of years. One day Master reappears.' These words described the feeling I had before I attained the Fa. This song is very simple, just like in a conversation. It expresses the feeling of delusion in this human world and how grateful one feels towards Teacher after obtaining the Fa. When a western Dafa practitioner sang this song in Tiananmen Square to appeal for Falun Gong, many policemen around her were moved to tears."

Xiu Yue continued to talk about her feeling when she wrote "Clear Thinking":

"The day after I finished composing "Be Saved," I read the lyrics of "Clear Thinking." It moved me in a different way from the song "Be Saved." "Life is a dream, passing in a flash." The melody soared into my mind and I wanted to sing it out. When the melody for "Life is a dream, passing in a flash" entered my mind, I really felt it. We all need to be awakened from a dream. But many people have not awakened. The dream is just like being onstage. Gratitude, resentment, affection, and hatred are but clouds and smoke. It would be a pity if people could come out of it and grasp the opportunity to cultivate righteous Fa and righteous Tao. Life is like a shooting star; it passes by in a flash. I kept sighing with emotion when I was composing this song." Xiu Yue also mentioned that she finished "Be saved," "Clear thinking," and "Ascending on the Path Home" within a week's time and she used different techniques in writing these three songs. "I had listened to many pieces of music that people used to chant scriptures from different cultivation schools in many different countries and I felt none of them was pleasing to my ears. I wanted to write a song that cultivators could sing over and over again. So I thought of using the styles of chanting scriptures or singing hymns to write 'Ascending on the Path Home.' That's why its style is different from that of the other two songs."

Xiu Yue grew up in a family of practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, and thus has a deep understanding of Chinese medicine. She talked about the relationship between music and the human body, "Chinese music, language, customs, and ways of thinking are all interrelated. The gods passed down the earliest music and so ancient music carries special power. It links with yin and yang and the five elements and has the power to cure illness. The pentatonic notes of Chinese music, five elements, and the five organs of human beings all correspond to one another. Our forefathers believed that music could move pulses, clear one's mind, and rectify one's mind and body." She further explained, "Music can cure illnesses. Our forefathers discovered how music affects our health. Contemporary medicine is also doing research in this area. The human ability to recognize sound begins when a baby is still in the mother's womb. The ear is the first human organ to develop. A baby can hear the mother's heartbeat, breathing, and voice. That's why people today want to do 'prenatal education.' One of the techniques is to let pregnant women listen to music. Graceful and relaxing music can regulate people's emotions, help their breathing, and regulate the function of their organs. The relationship between pentatonic notes and psychological response is an area that needs deeper research."

Talking about what type of music is beneficial to human body, Xiu Yue said, "Ancient people knew decadent music could subjugate a nation. The types of music that are beneficial to human beings are melodious, dignified, and even in tone. When an emperor offered sacrifices to gods during a ritual, the music played was majestic, profound, resounding, and used to express gratitude for heaven's benevolence. Such pieces of music were called "righteous sounds." She further emphasized, "In order to write such a piece of music, the composer needs to be morally upright, compassionate, tolerant and kind. Only a person who knows what is good can create good music. If a person doesn't know what is good, it would be difficult for that person to provide good things to others." When asked about the traits of music created by a cultivator, Xiuyue said, "The music written by a cultivator contains less sentimentality. The music is pure, natural and exquisite. It carries penetrating power. It can penetrate one's mind, but is not overly sentimental. Instead, it will bring out kindness and compassion in the listeners. Human beings all have a kind and awakened side, which will naturally resonate with the kindness and compassion within the music."

Posting date: 12/6/2005
Original article date: 12/6/2005
Category: Practitioners' Insights
Chinese version available at http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2005/11/11/34554.html

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