Hi Tony,
That’s a great ride. I know how it feels. I once got to that stage when I felt confused regarding religion. Whether I have to choose to be a Buddhist or another religious adherent. Even I once made a farewell sentence to my Buddhist fellow that maybe I wouldn’t go to the Vihara anymore. Nevertheless, it still doesn’t work. My mind was still uneasy for several years. Somehow Dhamma still sticks in my mind. The more I contemplate the Dhamma, the more I got that Dhamma doesn’t belong to any particular religious group on the earth. Dhamma is like the law of gravitation, the universal truth, whether people acknowledge it or not, those law will always run and has an impact toward all people. Then, when I realized it, the burden in my chest drop up. Since that, as for me, religious issues isn’t a big deal anymore. I can find Dhamma anywhere. I can find Dhamma in all religious organization. I can feel comfort in all religious community. It’s so relieving!
I love a passage which come from Pahārādasutta, Aṅguttara Nikāya 8.19.
Seyyathāpi, pahārāda, mahāsamuddo ekaraso loṇaraso; evamevaṁ kho, pahārāda, ayaṁ dhammavinayo ekaraso, vimuttiraso.
‘The ocean has just one taste, the taste of salt. In the same way, this teaching and training has one taste, the taste of freedom.’
If it’s a Dhamma, it will always lead to freedom. No matter where we can find it.