ABSTRACT
Fire is a process, not a thing; it moves; it consumes; it grows; it dies; it is rekindled again and again, always different, always the same. Beautiful, destructive, creative, brilliant, terrifying: it is, perhaps, the most evocative and powerful symbol for life that we have. Without fuel, fire is just an idea; it has no existence separate from that, to which it clings, that which nourishes it. The same is true of life, human, animal, and vegetable: all matter requires fuel for survival, and the quality and nature of the fuel that is chosen – or is available – will affect the quality and nature of the life sustained. Li represents clarity and radiance, in nature and in the human mind and spirit. It also signifies the eye and vision. If we wish to be 'enlightened', we must empty ourselves of preconceptions.
