Your Donkey

Dismount your donkey at the summit.
Some places in this world are very hard to climb, and people use animals.
Each person can only ride one, and each animal might have a different name.
The riders go up the trail in different orders, and they discuss their
varying opinions about their experiences. They may even have conflicting
opinions: One traveler may think the trip thrilling, another may find it
terrifying, and a third may find it banal (which means ordinary).
At the summit all the travelers stand in the same place. Each of them has
the same chance to view the same vistas. The donkeys are put to rest and
graze; they are not needed anymore.
We all travel the path of Tao ("the way Home"). The donkeys are the various
doctrines that each of us embraces. What does it matter which doctrine we
embrace as long as it leads us to the summit? Your donkey might be a Zen
donkey, one might be a Tao donkey. There are Christian, Islamic, Jewish,
and even Agnostic donkeys. All lead to the same place. Why poke fun at
others over the name of their donkey? Aren't you riding one yourself?
We should put aside both the donkeys and our interim experiences once we
arrive at the summit. Whether we climbed in suffering or joy is immaterial;
we are there. All religions have different names for the ways of getting to
the Holy Summit. Once we reach the Summit, we no longer need names, and we
can experience all things directly.

Deng Ming-Dao, from the book "365 Tao: Daily Meditations