T'ai-hsu (8 January 1890-17 March 1947), Buddhist monk of the wei-shih [consciousnessonly] school who led a movement to reform and modernize his religion. He headed the Wu-ch'ang fo-hsüeh yuan [Wuchang Buddhist institute], edited the Hai-ch'ao-yin, and established such organizations as the World Buddhist Association.

Although his native place was in Ch'ungte, Chekiang, T'ai-hsu was born into a poor family in Haining. His father, a bricklayer, died when he was one year old, and his mother remarried when he was five. He spent his childhood in Haining under the care of a maternal grandmother and an uncle. T'ai-hsü received a primary education in the Chinese classics from his uncle, a village school teacher, and he often traveled with his grandmother when she made pilgrimages to Buddhist temples in the area.

At the age of 15, T'ai-hsü was compelled by straitened financial circumstances to go to work as a shop clerk. However, he soon left the job because he wished to become a Buddhist monk. A short time later, he entered the T'ien-t'ung temple near Ningpo, where, from 1906 to 1910, he received basic instruction in Buddhism. He became attracted to the teachings of the T'ient'ai and Hua-yen schools, and about 1908 he came to know monks who were sympathetic with reform efforts. At their urging, he began to read works by K'ang Yu-wei, Liang Ch'ich'ao, T'an Ssu-t'ung, Chang Ping-lin, Tsou Jung, and Yen Fu, as well as such revolutionary newspapers as the Min Pao [people's journal], which then was published secretly in Japan. In 1910 T'ai-hsü went to Nanking, where he studied under Yang Wen-hui (1837-1911; T. Jen-shan), a prominent Buddhist layman who was director of the Buddhist Press. In 1911 he went to Canton, where he was associated with anti-Manchu revolutionaries and developed an interest in anarchism and socialism after reading Chinese translations of works by Tolstoy, Bakunin, Proudhon, and Marx. He participated for a time in a discussion group on socialism and became convinced of the necessity for a social revolution in China.

T'ai-hsu's interest in socialist ideas affected his interpretation of Buddhism and soon led him to formulate plans for a new Buddhist movement in China. He contended that Buddhism and socialism were similar in that both advocated social equality and salvation for all. However, he felt that Buddhism in China had degenerated and had been unable to fulfill its aims because of the relaxation of Buddhist order. Monks had become ignorant, and Buddhist properties were monopolized by a few. Furthermore, the ancient Buddhist doctrines had become outmoded in the new social environment of twentieth-century China. T'ai-hsu believed that the scriptures needed to be redefined with reference to new currents of thought. Buddhism had become an object of popular hostility: temples had been destroyed, and Buddhist properties constantly faced threats of government confiscation. T'ai-hsu therefore aimed at a threefold reform movement : regeneration of the Buddhist clergy, rededication of Buddhist properties, and redefinition of Buddhist doctrines. About 1909 he helped to establish the Association for Monks' Education at Ningpo ; in 1910 he founded the Association for the Promotion of Buddhist Education at Canton. In 1912 T'ai-hsü participated in the formation of the Fo-chiao hsieh-chin hui [Buddhist association]. At the organization's first meeting in Chinkiang, he set forth his principles of religious reform. He believed that Buddhist land holdings were the common property of all followers of the religion and should be dedicated to the promotion of social welfare, particularly education. In a statement that aroused strong controversy, he advocated the adoption in religious communities of the principle that each person should be judged by his abilities and rewarded according to his work. Moreover, he argued for the redefinition of Buddhist doctrine because he believed Buddhism to be a religion for this world. The evolutionary process of religion corresponds with that of political life, and both religion and government should have the same goal: a grand union in which people work according to their abilities and receive according to their needs. In 1913 he wrote: "The evolutionary process of politics is from tribe to monarchy, from monarchy to republic, and from republic to anarchy. The evolutionary process of religion is from pantheism to monotheism, thence to atheism, and finally to no religion. In the ultimate grand union, government becomes anarchy and religion becomes atheism." T'ai-hsü was so distressed by the unenthusiastic reception of his principles that in 1914 he retired to P'u-t'o Island, where he remained for three years. He secluded himself in the Hsi-ling temple and voraciously read Buddhist literature, Chinese classics, Western logic, philosophy and psychology, and the natural sciences. Among contemporary Chinese writers, he was particularly attracted to Chang Ping-lin and Yen Fu (qq.v.), both of whom were known for their interest in Buddhism. During this period of retreat he also began to study wei-shih, or "consciousness-only," Buddhism, a form of idealism which analyzes the mind into levels of consciousness {see Ou-yang Ching-wu). As a result of his years of study and meditation, he decided to "create a new Buddhism based on orthodox doctrines, while at the same time adopting various ancient and modern teachings of both East and West in order to enable it to meet the needs of the time." The synthetic tendency of T'ai-hsu's thinking became increasingly evident. In order to "combine and transform the various philosophies," he declared, "the world needs the doctrine of idealism." As a follower of the "consciousness-only" school, he believed all sentient things to be the products of consciousness, having no independent existence. In his opinion, this view was confirmed by Einstein's theory of relativity, "that a thing can only be identified by naming its relationship to something else." T'ai-hsü believed that man cannot live alone and that because man shares his lot with society, he must promote public welfare. Civic morality is consonant with the Buddhist view of life that advocates concern for the welfare of others. Like many of his countrymen, T'ai-hsü thought that the First World War testified to the bankruptcy of Western civilization and of Christianity. In order to establish a new moral standard for the world, he said, Buddhists must not use religion as an escape but must enter into the world to practice a new Buddhism which would be humanistic, scientific, demonstrative, and universal.

In 1918 T'ai-hsü made a preaching tour of Taiwan, and he visited Japan before returning to China. His observations during that trip reinforced his conviction that reforms were needed in the Buddhist sangha, or order. He called for elimination of commercialism and illiteracy and for higher intellectual and spiritual standards for the clergy. He held that monks should engage in productive labor, religious ceremonies should be simplified, and temples and monasteries should be reserved for meditation and research. A national monastery should be established in China to serve as a model for the new monastic ideals. He also envisaged the building of a national center of Buddhist learning in Nanking and the creation of a network of Buddhist institutes throughout the country, with parishes and chapels for preaching in every city.

Also in 1918 T'ai-hsü, Chang Ping-lin, and Chiang Tso-pin (q.v.) founded the Chueh-she [enlightenment society], which aimed at propagating the Buddhist faith. It conducted research on Buddhism and on the practice of meditation, and published a quarterly edited by T'ai-hsü, the Chueh-she chi-k'an [enlightenment journal]. T'ai-hsü soon organized a similar group in Hangchow. About 1920 he closed down the Chueh-she in Shanghai, converted the Chüeh-she chi-k'an into the Hai-ch 'ao-yin yüeh-k'an, and moved to Hangchow to devote himself to editing the Hai-ch' ao-yin. It became China's outstanding Buddhist journal and commanded high respect among Chinese scholars of all religions. In 1922 he accepted an invitation to head the newly established Wu-ch'ang fo-hsueh yuan [Wuchang Buddhist institute], an education center for monks and laymen. The institute, which was famous for its library of over 40,000 books and its lecture program, and the China Institute of Inner Learning, founded by Ou-yang Ching-wu (q.v.), became rival centers of the "consciousness-only" school of Buddhism. During the 1920's T'ai-hsü engaged in polemical debates with Ou-yang Ching-wu, who opposed his synthetic program and advocated strict adherence to traditional Buddhist tenets. In 1 922 T'ai-hsü established the Hankow Buddhist Society, which by 1933 claimed a membership of 30,000.

During a symposium on Buddhism held at Lushan, Kiangsi, in 1923, T'ai-hsü announced the establishment of the Shih-chieh fo-chiao lien-ho hui, or World Buddhist Association. In the summer of 1924 a conference of the newly established association called for a meeting of East Asian Buddhists in 1925. In the meantime, T'ai-hsü made plans for establishing a university through which Chinese Mahayana Buddhism might be introduced to the West. He instituted the annual World Conference on Buddhism in Kuling, sent his disciples to study in various Buddhist centers, and invited Buddhist leaders from abroad to lecture at the Wu-ch'ang fo-hsueh yuan. In the winter of 1 925 he led a Chinese delegation of 26 members to the East Asian Buddhist Conference held in Japan, where he delivered a series of lectures on Buddhism. The following year, at the suggestion of Hsiung Hsi-ling (q.v.) and Chang Ping-lin, he founded the Association for Buddhist Education in Asia (later the Association for Buddhist Education in China). He also established the journal Hsin-teng [inner light] and, at the invitation of overseas Chinese, gave lectures in Singapore.

Although he was depressed by the recurrent civil wars in China, T'ai-hsü continued his efforts to create a world-wide Buddhist movement. He believed that the West was more dynamic than the East, and he concluded that it would be feasible to influence the East by first influencing the West. Thus, he made a trip to Europe and the United States in 1928-29 to assess the possibilities of introducing Buddhism to the West. He first visited Germany and France with the idea ofsetting up a world university in Europe for Buddhist studies. This plan failed, but T'ai-hsü did succeed in establishing a branch of the World Buddhist Association in Paris. In England he met Bertrand Russell, with whom he discussed problems of Buddhism; and in the United States, he lectured at Columbia, Yale, and other universities. According to T'ai-hsü, his travels abroad led him to reevaluate Western civilization. He had regarded the West as being superior to the East only in material achievements, but after this trip he decided that this view was an over-simplification. In 1929 T'ai-hsü founded a new national organization, the Chung-kuo Fo-chiao hui [Chinese Buddhist society], with the aim of enlisting all Chinese temples and monasteries in the cause of reforming the order. He founded the College for Buddhist Teachings at Peiping in 1930, but he soon had to close it because of financial difficulties. In the early 1930's he established the Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Institute at a monastery near Chungking, and in 1935 he founded the College of Pali Tripitaka at Sian. He became head of the Min-nan fohsueh yuan [Minnan Buddhist institute] at Amoyin 1937. T'ai-hsu's teaching methods were considered unorthodox, for he encouraged his students to study other subjects besides Buddhism and to attempt to understand the meaning of the Buddhist sutras rather than merely memorize them.

After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war, T'ai-hsü moved to Szechwan, where he remained until 1945. His headquarters was at the Sino- Tibetan Buddhist Institute near Chungking. He reestablished the Wu-ch'ang fo-hsüeh yuan and the Chung-kuo fo-chiao hui in Chungking and directed their activities throughout the war years. In 1939 and 1941 he left Szechwan for a short time to lead Chinese Buddhist missions to Southeast Asia, where the group visited Buddhist centers in Burma, Malaya, Ceylon, and India. In addition to lecturing and writing, T'ai-hsü helped organize medical relief work and promoted social welfare projects in Szechwan. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, T'aihsü returned to Nanking and became the chairman of the Buddhist Reform Committee. From 1944 until his death, he also served as an executive director of the Institute of Philosophy of Life, headed by the Roman Catholic bishop Paul Yu Pin (q.v.). In 1947, after a lecture trip to Ningpo, T'ai-hsü retired to Shanghai. He became ill and died on 17 March 1947. Among T'ai-hsu's important writings are the Fo-hsüeh kai-lun [introduction to Buddhology] of 1926, the Fo-chiao ming-tsung-p 'ai yuan-liu [origins of the most eminent Buddhist sect] of 1930, the Fo-chiao tui-yü Chung-kuo wen-hua chih ying-hsiang [influence of Buddhism on Chinese culture] of 1931, the Che-hsueh [philosophy] of 1932, and the Fo-ch'eng-tsung yao-lun [essential discourse of Buddhist patriarchs] of 1940.