Test Your Knowledge of Sangha in Buddhism

Sangha: A Sanskrit word meaning religious community

• Sangha is a Sanskrit word which means "association", "assembly", "company" or "community".
• It was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom.
• Sangha has been used by religious associations, including Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs.
• In Buddhism, sangha refers to the monastic communities of bhikkhu (monks) and bhikkhuni (nuns).
• According to the Theravada school and Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, the term sangha does not refer to the community of sāvakas (lay followers) nor does it refer to the community of Buddhists as a whole.
• The Sangha is the third of the Three Refuges in Buddhism.
• The Sangha was originally established by Gautama Buddha in the fifth century BCE.
• The Sangha also fulfils the function of preserving the Buddha's original teachings and of providing spiritual support for the Buddhist lay-community.
• Buddhist monks, nuns, and novices own a minimum of possessions due to their samaya as renunciants.
• The idea that all Buddhists, especially sangha members, practice vegetarianism is a Western misperception.
• Both Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions vary depending on their interpretation of their scriptures.
• Some liberal scholars opine that sangha is frequently (and according to them, mistakenly) used in the West to refer to any sort of Buddhist community.