Inner Resources

We close our eyes when we meditate so that we can see more clearly what’s going on inside the mind, inside the body. We spend so much of our time looking for things outside, distracted by things outside, that we don’t really know ourselves well. So here’s time to get to know yourself. What does it feel like when the breath comes in? What does it feel like when it goes out? Where is your mind focused right now? Keep track of these things if you’re going to learn from them.

Think about the Buddha on the night of his awakening. Or think about his quest for awakening. What did he have? He didn’t have any books. He had tried the teachers of the time and found them wanting. So he had to strike out on his own. He had his body, and he had his mind. It was by developing good qualities in body and mind that he was able to find awakening. He realized he had to look for his own internal resources and he was able to develop a lot.

He started out with his honesty. He was going to be truthful—to himself and to others. He was going to be resolute. Whatever course of action was required, he was going to do it. And he was heedful, realizing that he might be wrong. So he had to check what he was doing all the time to make sure that it was leading in the right direction. Then, as he said, these are qualities that made him the Buddha: heedful, ardent, resolute.

He was honest, and he didn’t let himself be easily satisfied with what he found inside. If there was an opportunity for there to be something better, he would look for it. That’s what got him on the right track, and that’s what kept him on the right track all the way.

Now, these are qualities we can develop inside, too. They’re not as flashy as things outside. You can’t put them on an iPad; you can’t put them on a screen and decorate them. But they are good qualities in the mind—good, solid qualities in the mind. It’s by looking inside that you’ll find them and looking inside that you’ll be able to develop them—see how far they can go.

For most of us, our inner resources are pretty undeveloped. As a result, we keep trying to depend on other people. Sometimes we can; sometimes we can’t. You have to think about it. If your goodness depends on the goodness of other people, you’re in a bad position, because they can change at any time. The happiness they give you is like borrowed goods. They can take it back at any time.

So if you want a genuine happiness that’s really yours, you have to look inside. The Buddha himself, when he was thinking about his happiness in the world—this is before he left home—looked at the world and said it was like a group of fish in a puddle that was drying up, fighting one another over the water in the puddle. Everywhere he looked, someone had already laid claim to something. Wherever you might look for happiness, it’d already been laid claim to. So he realized he had to look inside if he wanted a happiness that was safe. And what he was able to find there was of infinite value.

It started with little things inside: little honest, ordinary qualities. But he developed them. In giving his full attention to developing them, he was able to see how far they can go. And they took him very far.

So keep reminding yourself, you’ve got good potentials inside, but you don’t want to leave them just as potentials. You want to develop them. You can follow the example of the Buddha. He didn’t have any examples, but we have his example, which showed that this really is the genuine path to happiness. So take advantage of it while you can.