A correction to make: The Arhat in the story should be Maudgalyāyana and not Shariputra.
Maudgalyāyana was know for his exceptional miraculous powers.
When you hear about esoteric or hidden teaching in a religious tradition, there are generally two response. One is to immediately see those instructions as being something special, and also to think that if you become privy to the hidden instructions, then you your self will become exceptional or elite.
Others will immediately give rise to suspicion and wonder if this could be some kind of negative or satanic cult. Because we've all heard stories or seen movies about such things, and besides, if a teaching is authentic then why on earth would you need to keep it secret.
Well in the Buddha Dharma there are two types of secret: There is that which is naturally hidden from us and that which is intentionally kept secret. In terms of that which is naturally hidden then there is that which is hidden in time, by location, and in terms of subtlety.
There are various reason why an instruction is intentionally kept secret and I will discuss some of those reason here.
00:00 Introduction- The hidden truth and secret teaching
01:13 Three types of hidden phenomena
03:42 The story of Finding Shariputra's Mother
08:07 That which is intentionally kept secret
10:51 The intention of a Mahayana Buddhist teacher
12:50 A quote from Guru Rinpoche
14:29 The teaching suitable for everyone
15:33 Britain invades Tibet- The Younghusband Expedition
17:49 Insitutional abuse in religion
