[n_4:30]. Four Demons: Illness, Obstacles to Dharma, Death, and Kles'as.

[n_4:31]. Mount Sumeru: A symbolic huge mountain. According to Buddhist legend, it is located in the center of the cosmos.

[n_4:32]. This short incantation is to stabilize the coming Buddha.

[n_4:33]. The Four Accomplishments: To alleviate sorrows and misfortunes; to augment merits; to attract sentient beings; and to subdue demons.

[n_4:34]. Power of Mouth: Speech, singing, admonishing.

[n_4:35]. Padmasambhava: Founder of the Red [or Nying-mapa] School. This ritual belongs to the Red School, so Padmasambhava's name is always mentioned. The followers of this School believe that the body of Padmasambhava was transmitted from

[paragraph continues] Buddha Amida; his mouth from Avalokites'vara; and his mind from Gotama Buddha. Another way of viewing this is to say that Padmasambhava received his Dharmakaya from Amiba, his Sambhoga-kaya. Avalokites'vara; his Nirmanakaya from Gotama. Padmasambhava received his Dharmakaya from Avalokites'vara; his Nirmanakaya from Gotama.

[n_4:36]. Obstacle to Omniscience: Another translation is the Hindrance of Knowing. To attain Nirvana, one must annihilate the Hindrance of kles'a, which is the direct cause of Samsara. But to attain the Non-Abiding Nirvana (Mahayana's view of the perfect Nirvana), one must also annihilate the Hindrance of Knowing, or the Obstacle to Omniscience. Since the Bodhisattvas aspire not merely to liberation but also to Perfection, the extermination of the Hindrance is necessary in attaining the perfect Buddhahood.

[n_4:37]. Succession of Gurus: The Lineage or Rosary of Gurus in direct succession from Hayagriva.

Footnotes

^73:* We have added this parenthesis to clarify an important concept, which though stated here in simple form, expresses the fundamental idea of the new birth of the regenerate man within the shell or womb of the old self--the renewed man, born of divine power. The essential gotra concept explained in our Introduction vitally close to the meaning of the text. Ed.