The New York-based Divine Performing Arts Touring Company recently held two
performances in Ottawa of its Chinese New Year Spectacular. With its
presentation of traditional Chinese myths and contemporary tales of life in
China, the Spectacular served as a wonderful forum to showcase the breadth and
depth of time-honoured Chinese cultural traditions.
One of the many sketches, entitled “Awareness Raising,” served as a particularly
poignant commentary on the importance of unity in overcoming violence and
repression. In the sketch, a mother and daughter are openly displaying their
beliefs in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, values that have served as
the foundation of a culture that can trace its roots back thousands of years.
The woman and child are attacked by police, who are stopped by an ever-growing
number of people in the community. As the community increasingly stands
together, the violence cannot continue, and the community is able to actively
practice these key values. The sketch ends with an image of thousands of people
adopting a position of peaceful meditation, serving as an example to others, who
then join in.
Such an image is inspiring for the West, beyond the specific political and
cultural context of modern-day China. It echoes the words of the Dalai Lama on
his visit to Ottawa: the only way to build peaceful communities is to disarm the
heart, to remove the weeds of egoism and fear, and cultivate generosity,
compassion, truthfulness, courage and forbearance. As an increasing number of
people say no to violence, communities are able to actively practice essential
human values that can bring more peace in the world.
