This is understandable to some degree: to stop suffering takes hard work, and a great deal of honesty. Hard work and honesty (with ourselves) is not so easy, so we opt to wait until conditions are more favorable. During the time we wait for more favorable conditions, we can always accrue more merit, which is important when setting the stage for an auspicious rebirth. Then, when the perfect rebirth takes place, we can easily become enlightened and stop suffering.

            In the eighth century Bodhidharma - blue-eyed barbarian monk - arrived in China from India to start the Zen school. He proclaimed that merit (good deeds) counted for nothing. He further stated that there was no holiness in the way to the Buddha, only vast emptiness. What is a poor suffering Buddhist to do?  

            Many of the conversations about karma and rebirth came to a screeching halt, as Buddhists began to practice meditation while living in the moment.

            The great misunderstanding that had developed was the idea that Buddhism was a religion centered around the veneration of enlightened beings and enlightenment. As time passed, the mental and psychic powers of the Buddhas had been emphasized more and more, and the historical Buddha became almost a mythic character. Because he was such an extraordinary man, people began to believe there was no way they could be like him. True - an important part of the Buddha's teaching was that everyone had Buddha Nature (the potential to become a Buddha) but, as hundreds of years passed, they began to view any attempt at becoming Buddha in this lifetime as prideful and even disrespectful to the memory of the Buddha.  In other words, they had lost sight of the teachings imbedded in the first sermon given by the Buddha:

            Life is made up of discontent and suffering,

            I have overcome the discontent and suffering of life,

            You can too,

            Here's how to do it.     

The Buddha went on to teach that our unhappiness in life come from the desire for things, desire for conditions and desire for control. Unhappiness come about because of our attachment to things, people and conditions. 

            He taught that in order to turn our lives into peaceful and joyful ones, we must put an end to desire and attachment. Let's use the example of lovers: both lovers think they cannot live without each other. When separated, they are unhappy and forlorn. When they marry, they will continue to be unhappy at every separation - if they continue this kind of thinking - because there is no way that they can be together at all times.  This kind of love is lionized in the stories of lovers in Eastern and Western literature. It is an ideal, albeit a bittersweet one.

            The Buddha taught one can be happy in the presence of a loved one without making the loved one responsible for that happiness. One can become attached to another without wanting to control the other's every move. The Buddha taught that controlling love is a selfish love that could only lead to discontent. He also taught that love is the most powerful force in the world when you truly love another, care for another, protect another to the point that your own needs fade into the background. This is selfless love. This is the kind of love the Buddha encouraged all his disciples to have towards each other and all humanity.

            He taught that by being in the moment - not day-dreaming - and practicing meditation, one can come to a stage where selfless love is possible. He taught that through this same process, freedom from illusion and suffering are possible. He taught that all people can become enlightened in this life time, and do not have to depend on karma or favorable birth conditions. 

            We only have to stop thinking obsessively of ourselves while living in the moment and the door to enlightenment will open.