Modern Social Science Research

Master Tai Xu’s thought on the construction of the sangha is centered on the “sangha-oriented” principle. Through a dual approach, he promoted the modern transformation of Buddhism in modern China: first, he sought the autonomy of the sangha, addressing the long-standing problems such as the family-based nature of the sangha and the privatization of temple properties. In his “On the Reformation of the Sangha System,” he systematically proposed the publicization of religious records, religious properties, and religious regulations, establishing the independent status of the sangha in terms of both system and economy. Second, he emphasized the strengthening of the leadership of the sangha, stressing the need to cultivate qualified monks through a step-by-step study and modern monastic education, and to build a complete system from the foundation of precepts, the study of doctrines to practical realization. He also used Buddhist colleges as a vehicle to promote monastic education that returns to the cultivation of “the overall monastic life.” Autonomy provides the external institutional foundation for the sangha, while leadership shapes its internal capacity base. Both together point to the construction of the sangha’s subjectivity in modern society, providing a crucial theoretical and practical model for the Sinicization and modernization of Buddhism.

Master Tai Xu; Sangha-centered; Sangha construction; Autonomy; Right of abbot; Monastic system reform