Remember that the first spiritual power is faith. The Buddha, or any of the other great spiritual teachers, didn’t want us to be slaves, dependent on someone else for our confidence. He didn’t want people to lean on him. He was very clear: “You have what you are looking for within yourself.” In our own nature, there is a teacher we can turn to and take refuge in. You can have faith in the basic goodness, the basic beauty, and the basic truth that is in you. You have to go back to yourself and discover it. It is your own ground of being. It is the basis of your true power.
