WHAT'S YOUR ASKESIS?

A question for all: Of the many and disparate claims to ultimate truth, what is the liklihood that the one to which you adhere is THE one? A term sometimes applied to the ritualized life of orthodox Jews is "Innerweltliche Askesis" or "worldly asceticism." If we borrow this notion and regard our various religions and philosophies as different disciplines we impose on ourselves, they need not be so mutually antagonistic--like the Franciscans haven't blown up any Dominican monasteries lately. I read the Dalai Lama's talk on happiness a few years ago and he said that he didn't particularly recommend that people take up Buddhism and abandon a religion they already have. This makes no sense in our usual view of religion. But it makes good sense from the "different disciplines" point of view. This may be wrong. There may be an ultimate truth and THE ultimate truth may be YOUR ultimate truth. But there is a way of being in the world that makes it easier to live together.