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sangha on Wiktionary
Sangha (IPA: [sɐnɡʱɐ]) is a Pali word used in many Indian languages, including Sanskrit which means "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; in these languages, sangha is frequently used as a surname. In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used by religious associations, including Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. Given this history, some Buddhists have stated that the tradition of the sangha represents humanity's oldest surviving democratic institution.
In Buddhism, sangha refers to the monastic communities of bhikkhu (monks) and bhikkhuni (nuns). These communities are traditionally referred to as the bhikkhu-sangha or the bhikkhuni-sangha. As a separate category, those Buddhists who have attained any of the four stages of enlightenment, whether or not they are members of the monastic community, are referred to as the āryasaṅgha ("noble Sangha").
According to the Theravada school and Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, the term sangha does not refer to the community of unenlightened sāvakas (lay followers) nor does it refer to the community of Buddhists as a whole. The Theravada school uses the term parisā ("assembly") or catuparisā ("fourfold assembly") to refer to the bhikkhu, bhikkhunī, upāsaka, and upāsikā.
A bhikkhu (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, bhikṣu) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", bhikkhunī, Sanskrit bhikṣuṇī) are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community).
The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the prātimokṣa or pātimokkha. Their lifestyles are shaped to support their spiritual practice: to live a simple and meditative life and attain nirvana.
A person under the age of 20 cannot be ordained as a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni but can be ordained as a śrāmaṇera or śrāmaṇērī.
A monk (; from Greek: μοναχός, monachos, "single, solitary" via Latin monachus) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions and in philosophy.
The Greek word for "monk" may be applied to or women. In English, however, "monk" is applied mainly to men, while nun is typically used for female monastics.
Although the term monachos is of Christian origin, in the English language monk tends to be used loosely also for both male and female ascetics from other religious or philosophical backgrounds. However, being generic, it is not interchangeable with terms that denote particular kinds of monk, such as cenobite, hermit, anchorite, hesychast, or solitary.
Traditions of Christian monasticism exist in major Christian denominations, with religious orders being present in Catholicism, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Reformed Christianity (Calvinism), Anglicanism and Methodism. Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, also have monastic traditions as well.
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