/lit/ - Literature

What are the best explanatory books on the metaphysics of Samsara? Is there only the Samyutta Nikaya?
Any source is fine, Buddhist or non-Buddhist.

>>19831587
That makes sense, buddh is just the pali word for gnosis

Evan-Wentz has done good work on vajrayana, though perhaps not "to Christians". The book called Buddhism in Tibet by Emil Schlangintweit might give you what you're looking for, since it was written when Christianity was still predominant in the West.

>demon worship
My understanding is that Tibetan Buddhism is heavily influenced by the Tantric mindset of "turn poison into medicine", so it uses a lot of things that are traditionally proscribed by Buddhism and, indeed, other religions. This includes orgies, meat-eating, excessive drinking, etc. with metaphysical justifications. Whether they're genuine or just excuses to be degenerate is up to you. Traditional Buddhism rules out sex, drinking, astrology, black magic, browsing /h/ and /x/, etc. from the get-go.
Anyway, "demon worship". I know of a specific practice called chöd, in which the bhikku invokes demons and wrathful gods. It is based off of the more totemic native pantheon of Tibet called bön. The original ritual was probably used by shamans for malevolent purposes, but in a Buddhist context the bhikku turns the demons against himself to devour his body, the idea being to dissolve one's material attachments.

Btw, here is an analogy of vajrayana to the other two branches as follows:
>hinayana (pali canon + Theravada)
Walking to your destination. Slow, but certain and pretty much free from danger.
>mahayana (most other sects, including zen)
Driving to your destination. Faster, yes, but accidents are possible and can be dangerous.
>vajrayana (mainly in Mongolia, Tibet, Bhutan, and Nepal)
Flying by supersonic jet. This is as fast as it gets, but accidents abound and almost certainly fatal. There are accounts of Tantric rituals (buddhist or no) driving people permanently insane.