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Re: Not chasing pleasure nor avoiding pain
@Jeroen said:
In enduring the sunshine and the rain, and not being easily moved, I have found a kind of wisdom about the passing nature of things. I have been a witness to good events and bad, and have found that with patience personal happiness tends to return.
Happiness for me has tended to be about giving attention on the good things in life, and just letting the bad things come and go, taking note of them without letting them take over. That way, the good things get bigger in your optics, and the bad things become more bearable.
Nothing lasts, as Terence McKenna said — nothing lasts. And that is good, that the old and out-dated makes place for the young and the new. It is an engine with which Mother Nature keeps fitting things together in working systems of plants and animals.
And so it is that many problems solve themselves with time. Being aware of the world around you can tell you which things are likely to resolve on their own, and which require intervention.
Jeroen
Re: The Three Jewels, Five Precepts and Delusion
@Ren_in_black
Meditation is not so much about the quantity (how long one can sit), it's the quality that's important.
Shoshin1
Re: The Three Jewels, Five Precepts and Delusion
@Ren_in_black said:
@lobster said:
What meditation would you like to try?
The one where I can start in a chair because I have very little flexibility!
Sure.
That is the 'Egyptian Pose' Used for those who might have preferred deckchair meditation on a beach but want to stay awake.
People use this a lot either on a stool or a straight back chair. It is quite common for Western Buddhists to use it. How long can you sit for?
lobster
Re: The Three Jewels, Five Precepts and Delusion
....it is our intention to be a decent human in our walk, that all the buddhas cheer on.
Re: The Three Jewels, Five Precepts and Delusion
But I'm not ready to take the 5 precepts.
I'm not ready to take anything. 
However you may be ready to try meditation. And I say try, because even the most advanced are still trying.
What meditation would you like to try?
We have many experienced people here, who can tell you about walking, sitting, chanting, study and even ceremony based Tantra...
Don't be a Buddhist be a meditator. The rest will come.
https://www.verywellmind.com/buddhist-meditation-8619603
lobster
Re: Not chasing pleasure nor avoiding pain
I'm in the same camp. I've been looking at this through the Big 5 personality lens lately. Like introversion/extroversion another personality spectrum is emotional stability/neuroticism. I'm an introvert, but I recognize that all things have strengths and weaknesses. I'll never be an extrovert but in order to flourish and prosper in this world I need to develop some extroverted skills.
Likewise as someone who falls on and cultivates qualities of emotional stability there are pros and cons like you mention. Taking things in stride vs not taking care of problems. I think the attitude that helps me be more proactive is self compassion combined with a longer term outlook. Future me will be happier if current me takes steps now to address problems. Obsession or perfectionism hasn't been an issue, my natural temperament I think provides some immunity.
person
Re: The Three Jewels, Five Precepts and Delusion
@Ren_in_black said:
that could be my own hang-up about what I think a Western Buddhist should say and do.
Probably. It's usually the case with Spiritual Materialism