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@Ren_in_black said:

@Jeffrey said:
Or can anyone do what Buddha has done?

Jeffrey I think you've hit the actual core of my question.

And if the answer is no, then what are we even doing here?

How do you explain the value of selflessness to the selfish?
or life's potential freedoms to the habitually enslaved,
or sufferings cessation to the cravings we love?

@Ren_in_black said:
If so, is this written somewhere, or is it something that's been sort of understood through the logic of the teachings?

This particular idea is not found in Pali Canon and is associated more with the Jain’s view or karma, e.g., see MN 101 and MN 136 and Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s study guide on the topic.

In the time before the Buddha's enlightenment, perhaps lifetimes, did the man Shakyamuni have karmic debt? If you say yes which seems reasonable to me then how did Buddha overcome that debt? I don't know the answer, but did the Buddha have a different potential than everyone else to become a Buddha? Or can anyone do what Buddha has done? Did the man Shakyamuni have a smaller debt or a greater power to overcome? Or do we have the same potential?

Perhaps..

The degree to which any karmic dept is addressed is the same degree to which Nirvana's graces are manifested.
and/or....
If a person is just a temporary cab ride of Karmic inertia, what is that person that reaches Nirvana when that karmic inertia becomes inert?