One Flame . . . Many Candles

“There is one flame but many candles.”
—Alice Howell

A friend of mine, a retired Episcopal priest, shared with me these words from author Alice Howell (The Dove in the Stone and Web of the Sea). The various sacred traditions can help us see the light of love, the good, in others. In Christian terms, we remember that, as Jesus taught, “That which you do to the least among us, you do unto me” (Matthew 25:24). Therefore, we need to see Christ in others and treat them accordingly.

In Buddhist terms, it means recognizing the Buddha nature in others no matter how unappealing their surface behavior. This is best illustrated in what is called the practice of the Never disparaging and Never Despising Buddha. No matter how the people of a village treated him, he kept telling each person that he sees his or her Buddha nature.

In Hindu tradition, the gretting "Namaste" involves recognizing the divine in others. When one says, "Namaste" with hands held in front of one's chest as if praying and bends forward slightly, one is saying, "The divine in me acknowledges the divine in you."

• Today, as you go through your day, look past the surface of others and think of them as having a candle shining within them. This candle as the light of love. And, since God is love, think of each candle as the Spirit of God shining the light of love. Contemplate the words of Alice Howell, “There is one flame but many candles.”