Definition of "sangha" []

• The community of all followers of the Buddha; the ecclesia in which the devout take refuge; those who have "entered the stream" towards nirvana; as one of the three jewels of Buddhism. (noun)
• The Buddhist congregation including laypersons and "religious" (renunciate monks and nuns who have taken vows). (noun)

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• "Moreover, the term sangha in this heinous crime refers specifically to the monastic community."
• "The modern Western usage of the term sangha for the members of a Dharma center or organization, as if it were an equivalent term for the congregation of a church, is a nontraditional use of the term."
• "Monica Sanford, whose “Buddhist in Nebraska” blog has drawn attention from the Buddhist blogosphere, writes that learning and practicing dharma in the absence of sangha is a tricky thing."