I'm sort of curious just to ask and see if anyone has an answer for, how is it that you sort of deal with the distance that seems to exist between where you are right now in your practice and where you want to be. I bring this up because I've heard a few conversations about maybe what's a difficult-to-avoid flaw in traditional Buddhism, that assigns Stream-Entry and ultimately fully-realized Buddhahood these very seemingly lofty and impossible-to-match values. From what I'm given to understand this isn't a new or uncommon question that pops up in more recent times, but I still don't think it's very well addressed. I suppose my question comes down to, does the quest for spiritual realization absolutely have to feel daunting and frustrating at every turn? I suppose a related question too is" do you think there's any real answer to this kind of question, or is something that you really just have to suffer through and work through for years of practice?

What are those lofty and impossible to match values you're referring to?

If you're struggling with doubt about whether waking up is possible for you, it may be useful to reflect on all the people who have found that freedom, starting with the historic Buddha (who like you was only human) through the thousands of people who found enlighten,net in different ways In the years since and up to our time where you can talk to people who have reached this goal and varoous levels of attainment leading up to it, right here at the DhO. If all those people can do it, many of them lay people like yourself, living the day-today life just as you do, with similar kinds of worries and troubles, then surely, so can you and so can I.

I think that working through the doubts and the hardship is a part of the path. Whatever you are coming up against is a part of your path. How can you be free of suffering if you don't see all the many ways in which you suffer? It only feels as daunting and frustrating as it needs to be for you to see the cause of the frustration and let go of it. Once you do, it will no longer be frustrating in that way (for at least a couple of hours). It's all there in order to teach you and to show you the way to be free.