Sangha (Pali: saṅgha; Sanskrit: संघ saṃgha; Wylie: 'dus sde) is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose. It is commonly used in several senses to refer to Buddhist or Jain groups. Traditionally, in Buddhism Sangha almost always has one of two meanings: most commonly, Sangha means the monastic Sangha of ordained Buddhist monks or nuns. In a stricter sense, Sangha can mean the assembly of all beings possessing some high degree of realization, referred to as the arya-sangha or "noble Sangha". This article deals primarily with the subject of the monastic Sangha. Buddhists traditionally consider monastic life to provide the environment most conducive to advancing toward enlightenment, and the Sangha is responsible for maintaining, translating, advancing, and spreading the teachings of the Buddha. According to the same tradition for a country or nation to be considered as truly Buddhist, the majority of the nation must be Buddhist and include at least a fourfold sangha of bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upasakas and, upasikas. That is why there is also a tradition of yogic tantric practitioners who are laypeople but still Buddhist practitioners.