Whether an Actor Performs Well Is Up to the Actor — A Response to Diqiu Celestial

Xuefeng

November 22, 2015

Diqiu celestial: Is it predetermined which actor can perform well in a play and who cannot? Can one decide if they can perform well, and is it within their control? If it's up to oneself, does not that mean everyone can perform well in a play and be rewarded to go to heaven? If it's not up to oneself, does that imply everything has already been arranged, and one can only follow a set path? Due to my clumsiness, I am here seeking help from the guide.

Response: The plot and roles in a script are already determined and standardized. Who plays these roles? It's decided based on an actor's virtues, blessings, character, expertise, and their spiritual level. Who takes on a role is primarily decided by the karmic reward and punishment mechanism of the Tao. The director can select, but it's not entirely at the director's personal discretion. It's determined by the actor's conditions. For instance, if someone cast to play Mao Zedong is too short or too thin, they are not suitable for the role, so the director can only select someone resembling Mao Zedong. As for performing well, it's not determined by the plot or the Tao, nor by the director; it's decided by oneself. For example, portraying a Chanyuan celestial, the script outlines requirements and standards. Whether one can meet these standards is entirely up to the person playing the role. For instance, if the script prohibits one-on-one relationships but the actor insists on doing so, they haven't played the role well; the play hasn't been performed well.

Why do the Chanyuan celestials need to eventually reach "the State of Eightfold Liberation". Because only by reaching the "the State of Eightfold Liberation" can the play be performed well. Otherwise, there will often be omissions. Consistently having omissions will not lead to obtaining immortality, failing to achieve immortality, never realizing one's greatest wishes, and never escaping the cycle of reincarnation.

From this, it's clear that an actor's failure to perform a role well is determined by their imperfect self-awareness and imperfect mental state. This cannot be shifted blame to the script, the Tao, or the director. If the performance fails, it's not the fault of the script or the director; it's an individual matter. The world is faultless; all faults lie within us. Success has one reason; failure has a million reasons. An actor who fails can only find the reasons for failure within themselves. Those who attribute the reasons for their failure to other factors will forever remain failures.

Following a set path means following the requirements of the script. When the director wants laughter, the actor must laugh; when the director wants tears, the actor must cry. When the director says go up, the actor must go up; when the director says go down, the actor must go down. If the director asks for laughter, but the actor insists on crying, that's not a good actor. They've initiated their own free will rather than following the script and director's requirements systematically.

If everyone could perform their roles well, everyone could go to heaven. The issue is that most people do not perform their roles well because of the weeds in their soul gardens—selfishness, greed, arrogance, and stubbornness. This is why we need to cultivate spiritually. Without spiritual cultivation, it's challenging to perform a role well.