[var. rtsad/ ]
Biblical: root: 1) literal sense: da shing sdod rnams kyi rtsa ba/ the root of the trees (Mt. 3:10), rtsa ba nas dgog pa/ pulled up by the roots (Mt. 15:13), rtsa ba nas bskams pa/ withered from the roots (Mk. 11:20), 2) origin or source: dngul la chags pa ngan pa kun gyi rtsa ba yin/ the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10), da bid kyi rtsa ba dang gdung brgyud/ the Root and the Offspring of David (Rev. 22:16).
Buddhist: 1) cause, origin or source: nyon mongs pa de tsho thams cad kyi rtsa ba dang gtso bo lta bu bdag 'dzin ma rig pa de red/ the ignorance which apprehends a self is the chief and root of all the passions (TRC 285), 'khor ba'i rtsa ba bdag 'dzin/ self-grasping, the root of rebirth (TRC 96), chang de nyes pa kun kyi rtsa ba yin/ [drinking] chang is the cause of all kinds of sin (DPD); 2) foundation or basis: yon tan kun gyi rtsa ba yi ge/ the basis of all accomplishment is [reading and writing] (KPU 27), theg chen lam gyi rtsa ba byang chub sems/ the basis of the Mahayana path is the thought of enlightenment (HTE 182); 3) origin or source of a lineage: rtsa ba'i gzhung / root text, a scriptural portion on which commentaries 'grel pa/ and subcommentaries 'grel bshad/ are written (TRC 24), rtsa ba'i bla ma/ root lama (HTE 180); 4) "from the root" as a metaphor for wholly or completely: rtsa ba nas 'joms pa/ to destroy from the root (TRC 76), rang nyid sgrib gnyis la sogs pa'i skyon mtha' dag rtsa ba nas spangs/ has abandoned the two obscurations from the root, i.e. extirpated them (TRC 73), bdag 'dzin rtsa ba nas gcod byed/ to cut off self-grasping at the root (TRC 256), rtsad nas bcad/ uprooted (Jude 12).