The Buddha of Infinite Light, Amitabha, most ancient of the five mystic buddhas, presides over the western region of the mandala.  He is the red lord of the padma, or lotus family, symbolized by the lotus in his right hand. Associated with the primordial element of fire, he and his consort, Pandara, embody the wisdom of discriminating awareness. His path transmutes the poisons of attachment and desire into the simultaneous recognition of both the empty nature, and, the manifest details of all phenomena. He is the particular focus of the Pureland Schools of Buddhism and of the teachings on p'howa, the meditative practice that enables one to transfer consciousness at the time of death, into Amitabha's Realm of Great Bliss, known as Dewachen.