Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and has long been used by religious associations including the Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. Given this history, some Buddhists have said the tradition of the sangha represents humanity's oldest surviving democratic institution. In Buddhism, sangha refers to the monastic community of bhikkhu (monks) and bhikkhuni (nuns). These communities are traditionally referred to as the bhikkhu-sangha or bhikkhuni-sangha. As a separate category, those 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 sāvakas (lay followers) nor the community of Buddhists as a whole. Definitions In a glossary of Buddhist terms, Richard Robinson et al. define sangha as: Mahayana practitioners may use the word "sangha" as a collective term for all Buddhists, but the Theravada Pāli Canon uses the word pariṣā (Sanskrit pariṣad) for the larger Buddhist community—the monks, nuns, lay men, and lay women who have taken the Three Refuges—with a few exceptions reserving "sangha" for its original use in the Pāli Canon—the ideal (arya) and the conventional. Qualities of the Sangha The Sangha is the third of the Three Refuges in Buddhism. Common over all schools is that the āryasaṅgha is the foremost form of this third jewel. As for recognizable current-life forms, the interpretation of what is the Jewel depends on how a school defines Sangha. E.g. for many schools, monastic life is considered to provide the safest and most suitable environment for advancing toward enlightenment and liberation due to the temptations and vicissitudes of life in the world. In Buddhism, Gautama Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha each are described as having certain characteristics. These characteristics are chanted either on a daily basis and/or on Uposatha days, depending on the school of Buddhism. In Theravada tradition they are a part of daily chanting: The Sangha: The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples (sāvakas) is: practicing the good way (Suppaṭipanno) practicing the upright way (Ujuppaṭipanno) practicing the knowledgeable or logical way (Ñāyappaṭipanno) practicing the