[n_2:2]. The Golden Mountain is a name for the Pure Land of Padmasambhava.

[n_2:3]. According to Buddhist tradition, there are various ways to subdue evils. The highest teaching, however, urges the disciple to look upon all untoward manifestations and obstacles as themselves representing an aspect of Buddha--in this case, of the Fierce Guru. The yogi, seeing frightful visions or hearing demonic voices, should identify them as a manifestation of the Fierce Guru.

[n_2:4]. Ao-rgyng is another name for the Pure Land of Padmasambhava. Padmasambhava is called Ao-rgyng Rimpoche, meaning "the Precious One of Ao-rgyng".

[n_2:5]. The Nine Vehicles are (1) the Vehicle of Hearing (Sravaka); (2) the Vehicle of Self-Buddha (Pratyeka-Buddha); (3) the Vehicle of Bodhisattva; (4) the Vehicle of the Tantra of Affairs; (5) the Vehicle of the Yoga Tantra; (7) the Vehicle of the Maha Yoga; (8) the Vehicle of Ah Nu Yoga; and (9) the Vehicle of Adi Yoga. The first two vehicles are Hinayana Buddhism; the third is general Mahayana Buddhism. The remaining six all belong to Tantricism. Among them the fourth, fifth, and sixth are the so-called three lower divisions, or preparatory Tantra. The seventh, eighth, and ninth belong to the highest division of Tantra, the Annutara Tantra, which is practiced in Tibet; while the lower division of Tantra, Tang-Mig (the esotericism of the Tang Dynasty), is practiced in China and Japan.

[n_2:6]. The Fierce and Peaceful Buddhas are both the manifestations of the Dharmakaya.

[n_2:7]. Yidam is the patron Buddha one relics on.

[n_2:8]. Unfavorable circumstances for practicing Dharma will usually cause the disciples to regress. Therefore it is their wish

to be born in a land of favorable circumstances for their practice, so that regression cannot occur.

[n_2:9]. The Ao-rgyng Yabyum is the Father-Mother Buddha in the Pure Land of Ao-rgyng.

[n_2:10]. Tibetans believe that certain mental illnesses are caused by the demons and spirits of the eight planets.

[n_2:11]. Maji Lab Dran formed her own school, which still prevails in a part of Tibet. She was Tibet's greatest woman philosopher and yogi.

[n_2:12]. Oath-breakers are disciples who violate the Tantric precepts.

[n_2:13]. This is the translation of the prophecy, which is quite clear except for the meaning of the phrase "three evil spirits and their cousins."

[n_2:14]. Tibetan text: Bde Sdug-ahi Bya Wa Spyod Bai Dus. Although literally Bde means happiness and Sdug means suffering, this seems to be an idiomatic expression denoting "the coming into being of the sufferings," or "great changes and sufferings will come to pass."

[n_2:15]. According to Tantrism, most mental disturbances are caused by irregular or abnormal activity of the Life Prana that usually functions in the central nervous system.