A religion is humankind's attempt to make sense of a world that appears to only have an empirical basis in reality. We attempt to, in religion, capture common experience in such a way that all humans share the same understanding. Some believe in a metaphysical world beyond the senses; others do not. Fundamentally, the task of both is to find the shores of sanity bordering on an otherwise chaotic sea.
Sanity exists on a continuum. On one end is pure insanity, represented by a deluded schizophrenic; to describe the other end, I will borrow from Buddhism the term "Buddha-consciousness". A fully-enlightened Buddha is synonymous with utter sanity.
There is a path to enlightenment in Buddhism. First, one recognizes the Four Truths of the Noble Ones. And second, one recognizes the Noble Eightfold Path -- otherwise known as the Path.
The Four Noble truths are: one, that suffering exists in the world; two, that suffering is caused by attachments to temporary things; three, that doing away with these things does away with suffering; and fourth, that the Path is the way to do away with such delusions.
Buddhism complements itself in its entirety. Learning of the Four Truths and even one element of the Path naturally leads to the complete understanding the Eight Truths. The First Element of the Path is a reiteration of the reasons for the Path: that a Right View of the situation (as described in the Four Truths) leads to enlightenment. Others are less clearly orchestrated: Right Mindfulness (Element Seven) insists that it is essential to be in one's Right Mind to accept truth.
Most, if not all, elements even conform to other religions. Buddhism is nothing short of adaptable, and without contradiction someone can easily adapt the Four Truths and the Path to other religions.
The doctrine of Right Concentration pressures one to meditate, and translates cleanly to prayer. Someone who has trouble meditating can pray; those who have trouble praying can meditate. The outward benefits are the same.
Others, such as Right Livelihood and Right Effort, insist that we live according to our values, and not to contradict ourselves with Poorly-considered Speech. Similarly, we should always obey the principle of Right Action. I leave Right Intention for last, for above all, we should strive to do things for the right reasons. We should strive not to bring more hatred and delusions into the world by doing things in wickedness.
Buddha-hood is a difficult path to follow; it might be considered heavy to demand of sanity perfect Buddha-hood. However, it is a truism that everyone has their share of insanity within them. Judging the degree of someone's sanity is a tough challenge: what if they person who behaved differently than the norm is expressing a higher degree of sanity than those charged with his care? The man who we know as the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, lived homelessly, accepting charity from whoever offered. He saw more merit in his life of poverty than that of his former life, a prince.
Is it true that the Path to enlightenment is equal to the path to utter sanity? Is it truly possible for a follower of Buddhist philosophy to be a member of other religions simultaneously?
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