As with Christianity evolving from Judaism, Buddhism evolved out of Hinduism and contains both exoteric and esoteric teachings.  

Many of the esoteric modes of thought that we have outlined thus far deal with an individual initiate gaining personal experiential knowledge, or “Gnosis,” of his/her divine relation to the God that is inside and pouring forth. In esoteric Buddhism, or Vajrayana, it is the identification with the deity through the use of Tantra that establishes a sense of non-duality between practitioner and the creator.   

Literalists have, of course, oppressed Buddhists by instilling fear of the dualistic world surrounding us, which is both horrid and wonderful simultaneously. Notwithstanding, the initiate of Vajrayana Tantric Buddhism is taught 4 purities that protect them from this debilitating illusion:  

1.   Seeing oneself as the Buddha you seek to become.  
2.   Seeing one’s environment as the pure land or mandala of the deity, an embodiment of that deity in creative form.   
3.   Seeing one’s enjoyments as the bliss of the deity, but free from attachment.  
4.   Performing one’s actions for the benefits of others.   

In the outer, exoteric forms of Buddhism, there are three principle paths to enlightenment:

1.   Shunyata wisdom which is concerned with the relative and absolute nature of mind; being aware of our relative state of mind enables us to redirect our attitude accordingly.  
2.   Bodhicitta wisdom which implies that being an open individual with others lessens conflict within one self and lessens dissatisfaction within our everyday life; even though we have temporal pleasure, when in fact we actually need eternal peace.  
3.   And the wisdom of Renunciation which states that in order to become enlightened one should renounce samsara and the temporal pleasures of this reality. One should also not become obsessed with objects, including nirvana.  

The laity also has a strict adherence to the sutras, which they follow as a moral code much like all other religious systems. The esoteric Vajrayana, who also utilize the sutras, are not controlled by them in the acquisition of the light body. The Vajrayana initiate, instead, focuses on the positive aspects of reality and not the coarse, disdainful nature of the mundane world. Consequently, the initiate focuses on Buddha surrounded by a Nirvana-like environment. The result is that the individual rises in his spiritual body, so when the physical body reaches death it no longer is bound to the cycle of rebirth, and attains the so-called Buddha-hood.     

One of the techniques in Vajrayana Tantrics is the use of the imagination to visualize a specific, spiritual outcome. By using the mind’s eye and general feelings of Buddha bliss, the tantric master enters into the embodiment of the actual Buddha, surrounding himself with a heaven-like state. He/she then begins their progression into the no-mind of the nothingness of the Ain.  Like in Jewish mysticism, The Adam Kadmon of the Kabbalists is analogously replicating this perfected Buddha nature. As some of us have seen the movie the Secret, we know that the contents and moods of our mind are paramount in deciding our experiences and how we process them.  One of the reasons that we think these teachings do not take hold in people’s minds is because they see the seemingly actualities of disorder that enter their lives; however, they do not realize that the chaos they are enduring is the forward and reverse motion like that of a snake’s movements. This ebb and flow of energy is the cornerstone of habitual learning that we all experience and gain insight from, but it is up to us to interpret these experiences in a positive and constructive manner that will enhance our light body. 

The practitioner should not jump directly into Vajrayana Buddhism, for according to Buddhists teachings the four outer forms must be completed successfully before one can enter such physically dangerous endeavors. As of all other intimations of this perfected synergized body the flawless form of a diamond vehicle is our attention and that we are all living sadly below our divine potential as the carnal mind keeps us locked in this materialistic guise. This egocentric and ethnocentric persona is going to tear this earth apart unless we learn to cooperate. We feel a situation is coming that will bring us to our knees and just may do so if we continue down this path. It is essential that we rise above our self-indulgent, childish ways and become selfless, altruistic beings of light.

Jonathan McGregor Bethel and David Colin Healy are both writers and researchers.  They are the founders of Omega Point Institute, an online magazine and think tank dedicated to the research and dissemination of information pertaining to esoteric modes of thought and how those modes are solidifying  our collective future.  Whether it is the Technological Singularity, 2012 End Times, or the all encompassing omega point, these two individuals have much to say to clarify our view of the future.  www.omegapoint.org www.JonathanBethel.com