I had a roommate who said "I can't believe in Buddhism because my life isn't all suffering. It's a religion for people who are living in miserable conditions."

So, as the post before me says, you can't change a situation if you don't see a problem.

And one of the better translations or interpretations of the First Noble Truth I've heard is from Professor Robert Thurman who simply states, "We get stressed out."

:-)

Then, reading the Dalai Lama I came across an explanation of dhukka that made sense to me. He talks about buying a new car and being so happy. Invariable the car's 'new-ness' fades and we start thinking, "I have to get a new car to be happy." And that this reliance on temporary things to find permanent happiness is the crux of the problem. That is dhukka, he explains.

When I consider the Four Nobel Truths, I try to examine what this means to me personally -- I try to identify the places were I am stressed out and looking for instant gratification to stand in for real happiness. Then the onus is on me to take action. Knowing that I can not change the world, I must, and can, change the way I view the world.

In the Dhammapada one reads (in one of the many translations),

"Mind precedes its objects. They are mind-governed and mind-made. To speak or act with a defiled mind is to draw pain after oneself, like a wheel behind the feet of the animal drawing it."

"Mind precedes its objects. They are mind-governed and mind-made. To speak or act with a peaceful mind, is to draw happiness after oneself, like an inseparable shadow."

People want to ascribe to this some metaphysical insight. There is nothing that esoteric here -- it is just an observation on the part of the Buddha that our attitude effects the way we see the world. I find that empowering. Not only is it empowering, it indicates where the bulk of my real responsibility lies -- to stop judging the world around me and putting artificial labels on everything. Also, it's not up to me to see the world "as it really is" -- there is no unobserved universe behind the one I observe. It is up to me to remove, as best possible, my ego-driven contamination of the world. It's up to me to silence the monkey-mind and, as best I can, simply be.

Only when I stop contaminating the world with ego-driven judgments can I stop acting in a way that is harmful to me and others around me.

Also, taking refuge in the Dharma is not a weekend seminar! :-) This is a process one hopes to undertake across oceans of time.

This is why I go for refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. It is my responsibility now that I have acknowledged the problem, understand the cause of the problem and acknowledge that there is a solution to the problem. I must do my best to follow the Eightfold Nobel Path.

Much Metta