Is attaining Sotapanna possible? by Bhikkhu Pesala

I still remember something my teacher, Chanmyay Sayādaw said in a talk that he gave at Chiswick Vihāra, many years ago. He said that only one person was hopeless of attaining nibbāna. He then asked the audience if he should say who it was. I suspect that many in the audience were quite worried that they might be singled out and embarrassed in front of everyone. The Sayādaw continued, “One person is hopeless of attaining nibbāna. The lazy person!”

Mostly, people are too lazy nowadays to attain anything very much. When I urge people to practise meditation throughout the whole day without a break, it is hard to find a single person willing to try, and a few who try just give up after a short while. There are ten-day courses run regularly, which are free, but even then most people are too busy to attend, or rather they have insufficient faith to attend such courses. If they had cancer, would they not attend the hospital for radio-therapy?

So whether it is possible or not for us personally will depend on several factors such as ability, intelligence, faith, effort, honesty, morality, etc. Of these, faith and effort are critical factors. If you think and believe it's not possible, it's not possible. If you believe it is possible, then it may be possible. Unless you strive with 100% of your will and courage for the rest of your life, without getting side-tracked by worldly aims, from this day onwards, you won't ever know if it was possible or impossible for you personally. That is all that matters for you. 

Never mind what others believe now, or what they may or may not have believed five hundred years ago, or what others are doing or not doing now — that is irrelevant to the important question, which only you can answer for yourself. If you strive hard, you will make progress on the Path — I guarantee it. If you don't strive at all, you will remain stuck in saṃsāra for sure. At best, you will make some wholesome kamma bearing fruit in the happy realms of existence, but you will miss the greatest opportunity.