Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

secret function by which it has skillfully arranged a
religion as preparation for the final liberation taught in
Buddhism. In all countries, a religion of
heaven-and-man yana is found, wherein some aspects of
the Truth are taught. By practice of these religions one
may gain some insight into small parts of the Truth,
leading thereby to an understanding of the complete
Truth of the Dharmakaya as taught by the Buddha.
Buddhists, in fact, by knowing their own religion well,
see that the other faiths—all those in the whole universe,
are not incompatible with the Dharma but are bases
upon which it may stand and grow.
Readers will remember our definition of a
heaven-and-man yana. Such a teaching tells people how
to lead a good life here, so as to gain heaven in the next
birth and thus avoid the torments of hell. Our book is for
the West, and the heaven-and-man yana established
there is Christianity, so this religion is the preparation
for our Dharma in those lands.
Every religion has its own pride, and each one says,
with varying degrees of emphasis, that it is the only way
to salvation. The question is whether these religions are
ever justified in making such statements. In the past,
when communications were difficult and slow between
different parts of the world, each religion could make its
claims more or less unchallenged by the others. Now the
position is very different, and besides this, the study of
comparative religion is pursued in many places. In this
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