Lay Buddhists have been interested to an even greater extent than their monastic counterparts in the goal of rebirth in the Western paradise, or "Pure Land" ( jingtu ), of Amitabha Buddha. Unlike the ordinary realm of ancestors, which mirrors this world in most ways, the Pure Land is desired for ways in which it differs from this world. It is inhabited not by relatives, but by wise and compassionate teachers of the Buddhist Dharma, and it is free of the impurities and sufferings of the mortal realm. For some it is not a place at all, only a symbol of the peace of nirvana (enlightened state beyond cyclical existence).