Taixu

Taixu (Tai Hsu) (), (January 8, 1890 – March 17, 1947) was a Buddhist modernist, activist and thinker who advocated for a reformation and revival of Chinese Buddhism by drawing upon eclectic domestic and foreign sources and ideologies.

Biography 

Taixu was born in Hǎiníng (海寧) in Zhejiang province. His lay name was Lǚ Pèilín (呂沛林). His parents died when he was still young, and he was raised by his grandparents. At 16, he was ordained into the Linji school of Chan Buddhism in Xiao Jiǔhuá Temple (小九華寺) in Suzhou. Not long after being ordained he was given the Dharma name of Taixu, meaning Great Emptiness. In 1909, he traveled to Nanking to join the Sutra Carving Society established there by the lay Buddhist Yang Renshan.

As a result of being exposed to the political writings of Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Tan Sitong and Zhang Taiyan, Taixu turned his mind to the reformation of Buddhism. In 1911 while in Guangzhou, he made contact with the revolutionaries plotting to overthrow the Qing dynasty and participated in some secret revolutionary activities. Taixu would later describe the formation of his political thinking during this time in his Autobiography (自傳 zìzhuàn):

After the establishment of the new Republic of China, Taixu founded the Association for the Advancement of Buddhism (佛教協進會/佛教协进会 fójiào xiéjìn hùi), which lasted only a short time due to resistance from conservative Buddhists. Unable to convince the Buddhist community of his ideas, and shocked by the outbreak of the First World War and the sufferings in China, Taixu went into seclusion (閉關/闭关 bìguān) on Putuoshan for three years from October 1914.

Until his death Taixu worked toward the revival of Buddhism in China, although because of the economic and political turmoil that China experienced through wars and revolutions, few of his projects were successful. He died on March 12, 1947, at the Jade Buddha Temple (玉佛寺 yùfó sì) in Shanghai. Several of his influential disciples include Yin Shun 印順 (1906–2005) and Dongchu 東初 (1907–1977).

Buddhist Modernism 

Besides being a revolutionary activist for the Chinese, Taixu was a Buddhist modernist. He took the doctrine and adapted it so that he may propagate Buddhism throughout the world. One of his grand schemes was to reorganize the Sangha. His envisioned plan was to cut the number of monks in the monastic order down and according to history of religion professor Don A. Pittman, by 1930 Taixu had

This reorganization of the Sangha was an attempt to revitalize Buddhism, an important step to bring about a Pure Land in this world. Pure Land Buddhism was widely practiced in China during his time. Taixu's modernist mentality caused him to propagate the idea of a Pure Land, not as a land of Buddhist cosmology but as something possible to create here and now in this very world.  Pittman writes:

Like many Buddhist modernists, Taixu was interested in using tactics such as cultural translation (a method of explaining Buddhism) so that non Buddhists can better comprehend the complexity of the tradition. For example, in his essay "Science and Buddhism," Taixu makes a translation of the Buddha's teaching that inside of every drop of water, there are 84 thousand microbes, a Buddhist teaching that basically states that within our world there are many more worlds. He goes on to explain how that when one looks inside of a microscope one will be able to see these tiny microbes and that each one is a life of its own.

In his writings he connected the scientific theory that there is infinite space with no center of the universe to the Buddhist Sutras that states "Space is endless and the number of worlds is infinite, for all are in mutual counterpoise like a network of innumerable beads." However, Taixu did not believe that science was the be-all and end-all.  As a matter of fact he saw that in no way was it possible to reach enlightenment through science even though it is capable of explaining many of the universe's mysteries. "Scientific knowledge can prove and postulate the Buddhist doctrine, but it cannot ascertain the realities of the Buddhist doctrine."
He understood Buddhism to be scientific and yet surpassing science.

Contacts with Christianity 

Taixu's reforms of the Sangha were influenced in part by Christianity.  While in Europe, Taixu saw the successes of Christian charitable organizations and hoped to bring that organization style into his reformed Buddhism.  He implemented these methods into organizations like the Bodhi Society and Right Faith Society, lay organizations devoted to providing charity to the sick, poor, and misfortunate.

However, he was critical of Christian philosophy, believing that it was incompatible with modern science and failed to prevent economic depressions in Europe and both World Wars. Western critics argued that he was naive and ill-informed about Christian philosophy, calling his Lectures in Buddhism "a rambling, incoherent, amateurish talk."

Survey of Writings 

In one publication by Taixu, he discusses the importance of interreligious dialogue. He realizes the problems that exist in China and through a conversation with a Catholic archbishop he was able to understand this importance. Taixu writes:

This quote shows that Taixu believed there was no reason to deny the teachings of another religion because different religions, with cooperation and openmindedness, have the ability to work together and learn from each other.  Taixu went as far as incorporating some Christian ideas, such as methods of pastoral training and revival style preaching, into his own Buddhist practices.

Beyond adopting select Christians methods, a more controversial topic that Taixu dealt with openly was the existence of God.  When Taixu went into three years of self confinement after a failed reform attempt he reflected on the subject -

Taixu questions the existence of God because rationally if one looks at the world's situation there is no evidence of a god. He appears to tie this argument to the connections between Buddhism and science, and how superstition creates an obstacle on the path to enlightenment.

In Taixu's own article "Science and Buddhism" he offers many interesting and original thoughts on science and superstition. Taixu's main argument in the article is that all of the superstition in the world such as "The superstition of God or the restriction of the ego" and "the superstition of reality" prevent the advance of scientific discovery because of the closed-mindedness of the superstitious people to see beyond their beliefs.  Taixu writes,

From his writings Taixu's followers can grasp an understanding that he believes science is a valuable resource but because of people's steadfast faith in superstitions it will never be a successful asset to Buddhism.  He seems to argue that science is a means to enlightenment but it will never allow someone to get there. In Taixu's words, "Scientific methods can only corroborate the Buddhist doctrine, they can never advance beyond it."

Don Pittman wrote a book entitled "Toward a Modern Chinese Buddhism" in which he analyzes Taixu's reform efforts.  One of his reform efforts was the attempt to make Pure Land Buddhism a reality.

This among many things was one of Taixu's greatest ideas of reform. He believed that the only way to end the suffering on this world was to bring the Pure Land to it. He attempted to do so through many means, including the reorganization of the Sangha. Unfortunately for Taixu, his attempts at global propagation of the Dharma failed. Most of his institutions that were set up to help bring about this better life were crushed by many different things, including the communists.

See also
Chiang Kai-shek

References

Sources
Taixu, "Science and Buddhism." Lectures in Buddhism. Paris, 1928
Taixu, Taixu dashi quanshu. (The Complete Works of the Venerable Master Taixu), 20 vols. Taipei, 1956.
Pittman, Don A. Toward a Modern Chinese Buddhism: Taixu's Reforms. Hawai'i UP. Honolulu, 2001.
Ritzinger, Justin R. Anarchy in the Pure Land: Reinventing the Cult of Maitreya in Modern Chinese Buddhism. Oxford UP, Oxford, 2017.
Welch, Homles. The Buddhist Revival in China. Harvard UP. Cambridge, 1968.

Further reading
 Goodell, Eric  (2008). Taixu's Youth and Years of Romantic Idealism, 1890–1914, Chung-Hwa journal of Buddhist Studies 21, 77-121

External links 
 
 The Short Record of Master Taixu
 Taixu: To Renew Buddhism and Save the Modern World
 Taixu Biography
 An Interfaith Dialogue 

1890 births
1947 deaths
Qing dynasty Buddhist monks
Buddhism and science
Chinese scholars of Buddhism
Rinzai Buddhists
Chinese anarchists
Republic of China Buddhist monks
Writers from Jiaxing
Writers about religion and science
20th-century Chinese writers
Chinese spiritual writers
People of the 1911 Revolution
20th-century Buddhist monks