The buddha of the western buddhafield of Sukhāvatī, where fortunate beings are reborn to make further progress toward spiritual maturity. Amitābha made his great vows to create such a realm when he was a bodhisattva called Dharmākara. In the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, popular in East Asia, aspiring to be reborn in his buddha realm is the main emphasis; in other Mahāyāna traditions, too, it is a widespread practice. For a detailed description of the realm, see The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī, Toh 115. In some tantras that make reference to the five families he is the tathāgata associated with the lotus family.

Amitābha, “Infinite Light,” is also known in many Indian Buddhist works as Amitāyus, “Infinite Life.” In both East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions he is often conflated with another buddha named “Infinite Life,” Aparimitāyus, or “Infinite Life and Wisdom,”Aparimitāyurjñāna, the shorter version of whose name has also been back-translated from Tibetan into Sanskrit as Amitāyus but who presides over a realm in the zenith. For details on the relation between these buddhas and their names, see The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (1) Toh 674, i.9.

One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.

The four root downfalls are roughly synonymous with the pham pa bzhi (catvāra pārājika), or the four transgressions that require expulsion from the monastic community. These four transgressions are applicable to the maintenance of monastic and lay vows alike, though their interpretations might differ depending on context. The four transgressions are: (1) violating the vow of chastity (mi tshangs pa spyod pa, abrahmacarya); (2) stealing/taking what is not given (mi byin par len pa, adattadāna); (3) taking a life (srog gcod pa, prāṇātipāta); and (4) lying (rdzun du smra ba, mṛṣāvāda).

An important bodhisattva in the Mahāyāna pantheon who is considered to currently reside in Tuṣita and awaits rebirth in the human realm as the next buddha of the current age.

The roots of virtue are of three types: absence of desire (ma chags pa, alobha), absence of anger (zhe sdang med pa, adveṣa), and absence of bewilderment (gti mug med pa, amoha). These three give rise to all wholesome qualities and hence they are called “roots.”