the group of three Buddhas representing different spatial directions, typically referring to the Buddha of the Pure Land to the West, the historical Buddha in the center, and the Medicine Buddha to the East

the vertical three-times Buddhas — Dipankara (past), Shakyamuni (present), and Maitreya (future) — as opposed to the horizontal three-times Buddhas (Bhaisajyaguru, Shakyamuni, Amitabha)