Early on in my residency we had a silent meditation retreat with Soryu that would end on the full moon. Each day, we would spend hours meditating and practicing. Each night, we would hear an exhortation from Soryu, talking about various aspects of practice and telling stories of the Buddha’s life. For this particular retreat Soryu gave each of us a goal that he would remind us of at the end of each exhortation - to get enlightened by the full moon.
At first, I dismissed this goal as bluster. Surely, Soryu couldn’t actually mean what he was so clearly stating. But as the retreat progressed, and I got deeper into my practice, that belief in us never wavered, the clear conviction in his voice and eyes never changed.
At previous meditation retreats, I had never experienced the absolute belief from a teacher that I could reach enlightenment, right now. But there Soryu was, every night, with total conviction and energy in his eyes, telling me I could do it.
And that retreat, while I didn’t reach enlightenment and failed to achieve the deadline, I was able to strive like I never had before.