Do you suffer?

To establish Buddhism we simply need Buddhists. People who have faith and trust in the Triple Jewel, in karma and in rebirth. As the Dalai Lama summed up, it is "the view of interdependent origination and the action of benefitting others" that is the core of the Dharma. But how do you make that into a teaching everyday people can find attractive and worthy to be followed?

The path is morality, meditation and wisdom. The first thing to learn is right view. It would actually require a best selling book to let people know about the Buddha's message and feel compelled to follow it. Actually there are popular Buddhist authors, like the Dalai Lama himself, or others like Pema Chodron and Thich Nhat Hanh. But even though their books are sold in many copies I don't see followers growing in number. I think it is because they talk in a light, neutral voice and speak as if it was something like a personal therapy they're teaching.

What could actually make people say, "Magnificent! Just as if he were to place upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could see forms, in the same way has Master Gotama — through many lines of reasoning — made the Dhamma clear."?

The Buddha said that he teaches only suffering and the end of suffering. That is a strong message. But a major obstacle starts with that people don't think there is any suffering. While everyone is looking for the different sources of happiness the very fact that they suffer is something nobody wants to even recognise, not to mention admitting it. Perhaps it is something here that could be the key.