Why Shen Yun Can Save Lives

Many people wonder why people like us, who lead spiritual lives, created a performing arts company. And they want to know how it’s related to our spiritual practice. I would like to address this by saying a few words about the significance of Shen Yun. Shen Yun Performing Arts, by all appearances, is presenting the audiences of our day with a classical arts performance, and showcasing the beauty of the culture of the classical past. But when seen from a higher plane, Shen Yun is doing something even more glorious: redeeming lives. As divine beings see it, Shen Yun is bringing people to a better place. That’s because human beings were created by the divine, and their ultimate calling is to ascend to Heaven. Yet people today have forgotten the ways of tradition, and forgotten how kind, respectful, loving, and helpful as well as good to one another, in so many ways, people traditionally were. They have forgotten how people traditionally related to one another. If people carry on like this, unkind and unvirtuous, they will never make it to Heaven. This is why divine ones have sought to save the people here, and have taught people to do good. The virtuous religions of the world have been working towards these ends. But people have continued down the slippery slope of overvaluing technology at the expense of traditional virtues. They are veering further and further from the path the divine intended man to follow when he was created, and from the road home to Heaven.

For this reason, as the “spiritual leader,” per what some people call it, of the Falun Dafa faith group, I established a faith-based performing arts company, which is composed entirely of people who practice our faith. The goal was to present to the world the cultural heritage of China, highlight the beauty of its classical past, and remind today’s people of the precious things humanity is abandoning. By returning to the ways and values of tradition, people have the possibility of being saved. And this is something that all true religions are working towards. It is a condition for going to Heaven. Naturally, Shen Yun’s performers (including those who are part of its practicum program) are expected to be practitioners of Falun Dafa. And so the company’s expectation is that members not only participate in rehearsals and performances, but also study our spiritual practice’s teachings, do its exercises, abide by its principles, and so on. So performers have to be up for a life that is spiritually grounded. Those who aren’t on board with it are certainly free to leave at any time—as spiritual discipline is a solemn thing and it has to be done with the utmost sincerity.

The divine regard what we are doing as the right thing for people on a sacred path to do. And I know for sure that it’s what practitioners and I, who lead spiritual lives (and whom people consider a religious group), ought to do. We are doing something truly good and significant, and on a scale you don’t see other religious groups operating at. This should help to explain why I created Shen Yun Performing Arts.

Your teacher,
Hongzhi Li

October 6, 2025

(Translation by Team Yellow)