From - The Third Eye by Tuesday Lobsang Rampa

It may be of some interest to give here some details of our way of life. Our religion is a form of Buddhism, but there is no word
which can be transliterated. We refer to it as “The Religion”, and
to those of our faith as “Insiders”. Those of other beliefs are
termed “Outsiders”. The nearest word, already known in the
West, is Lamaism. It departs from Buddhism in that ours is a
religion of hope and a belief in the future. Buddhism, to us, seems
negative, a religion of despair. We certainly do not think that an
all-seeing father is watching and guarding everyone, everywhere.
Many learned people have passed erudite comment on our
religion. Many of them have condemned us because they were
blinded by their own faith, and could see no other point of view.
Some have even called us “satanic” because our ways are alien to
them. Most of these writers have based their opinions on hearsay
or on the writings of others. Possibly a very few have studied our
beliefs for a few days and have then felt competent to know all, to
write books on the subject, and to interpret and make known that
which it takes our cleverest sages a lifetime to discover.
Imagine the teachings of a Buddhist or Hindu who had flipped
the pages of the Christian Bible for an hour or two and then tried
to explain all the subtler points of Christianity! None of these
writers on Lamaism has lived as a monk in a lamasery from early
boyhood and studied the Sacred Books. These Books are secret;
secret because they are not available to those who want quick,
effortless and cheap salvation. Those who want the solace of some
ritual, some form of self-hypnosis, can have it if it will help them.
It is not the Inner Reality, but childish self-deception. To some it
may be very comforting to think that sin after sin can be committed and then, when the conscience prods too much, a gift of some kind to the nearest temple will so overwhelm the gods with gratitude that forgiveness will be immediate, all-embracing, and certain, and will enable one to indulge in a fresh set of sins. There is a God, a Supreme Being. What does it matter what we call Him?
God is a fact.
Tibetans who have studied the true teachings of Buddha never
pray for mercy or for favours, but only that they may receive
justice from Man. A Supreme Being, as the essence of justice,
cannot show mercy to one and not to another, because to do so
would be a denial of justice. To pray for mercy or for favours,
promising gold or incense if the prayer is answered, is to imply that salvation is available to the highest bidder, that God is short of money and can be “bought”.
Man can show mercy to Man, but very rarely does; the Supreme Being can show only justice. We are immortal souls. Our prayer: “Om! ma-ni pad-me Hum!” often translated literally as “Hail to the Jewel of the Lotus!” We who have gone a little further know that the true meaning is “Hail to Man's Overself!” There is death. As one doffs one's clothes at the end of day, so does the soul doff the body when the latter sleeps. As a suit of clothes is discarded when worn out, so does the soul discard the body when the latter is worn or torn. Death is Birth. Dying is merely the act of being born in another plane of existence. Man, or the spirit of Man, is eternal. The body is but the temporary garment that clothes the spirit, to be chosen according to the task in hand upon earth. Outward appearance does not matter. The soul within does. A great prophet may come in the guise of a pauper—how better can one judge of Man's charity to Man!—while one who has sinned in a past life when there is not poverty to drive him on.