The Secret of the Vajra World
The Secret of the Vajra World, by Reginald Rey, is an in-depth look into esoteric Buddhism, also called Vajrayana, or Tantric Buddhism.
The first Yana, Hinayana, was the first teaching presented by the Buddha after his enlightenment. This took place at the Deer Park in Banares, and was the first turning of the wheel, which consisted of the four noble truths. Later the Hinayana tradition spread to Tibet, and amounted to a monastic lifestyle where followers of the tradition could study the abhidharma (or advanced Buddhist Psychology).
Later in the Buddhas life, he presented the second Yana, Mahayana, to a more select audience. This presented the second and the third turning of the wheel of Dharma. The second turning was a presentation of “Emptiness” and the third outlined the doctrine of Buddha-Nature. While Mahayana Buddhism is more focused on practices of compassion as well as the perfection of the 6 paramitas, Vajrayana Buddhism is focused on direct experience and intense practice. Vajrayana Buddhism is the path of the Cave-Yogis, who, in some cases, have spent 30 or 40 years in complete isolation living in a Cave in the Holy Himalayan Mountain Range.
While practicing Mahayana or Hinayana Buddhism might help one to achieve spiritual enlightenment in as little as 20 or 30 life-times, Vajrayana Buddhism is the path to enlightenment in a single lifetime. It is dangerous for some, as if you stray from the path after studying and practicing it seriously, there can be grave karmic consequences.
Within this book, is an intense and in-depth look into topics such as the nature of reality, the realizations of enlightened beings, descriptions of the experiences of meditation masters, stories of Vajra Masters who spent years in caves by themselves, a comprehensive description of the dying process as well as the after death process, stories of Tulkus (or reincarnated masters) and much more!
This remains to be one of my favorite spiritual books, and one of the most important books on my journey to enlightenment.