Saturday my friend and I had a discussion about what is really meant by the oft-ill translated Buddhist statement:  Life is Suffering.  This week in The New York Times Modern Love column , author Laura A. Monson I think gives a good, real life Western example of what that first noble truth really means.

An excerpt:

You see, I’d recently committed to a non-negotiable understanding with myself. I’d committed to “The End of Suffering.” I’d finally managed to exile the voices in my head that told me my personal happiness was only as good as my outward success, rooted in things that were often outside my control. I’d seen the insanity of that equation and decided to take responsibility for my own happiness. And I mean all of it.

Say what you want about Modern Love, I think her article is well-written and moving.  Read it and let me know: do you think Laura A. Monson is an incognito Buddhist?