A scholar of Buddhist Logic, translator of woks of Japanese Buddhology, and early confederate of Tàixū 太虛. He taught at the Wuchang Buddhist Seminary 武昌佛學院 during its first year.
Biography
Shǐ received a classical education growing up, but in the last years of the Qīng 清 he spent a lot of time studying in Japan, were he learned Japanese and English. He was particularly interested in philosophy. After returning to China, he taught at various colleges in Běijīng 北京. In 1912, the study of Buddhism was in vogue among a number of scholars in Běijīng, including Jiǎng Wéiqiáo 蔣維喬, Xú Wèirú 徐蔚如, Hán Qīngjìng 韓清淨, and Méi Guāngxī 梅光羲. Shǐ was influenced by this trend and began studying Buddhism in detail.
In 1918, Shǐ joined Tàixū 太虛, Chén Yuánbái 陳元白, Jiǎng Zuòbīn 蔣作賓, and Huáng Bǎocāng 黃葆蒼 in establishing the Awakening Society 覺社 in Shànghǎi 上海. They began publishing the periodical Awakening Society Collectania 覺社叢書, which Shǐ took over editing when it became Hǎicháo yīn 海潮音 in 1920.
In September of 1921, the Hǎicháo yīn moved to Běijīng, and Shǐ with it. He returned to the south in August of 1923 (bringing the magazine with him) when he accepted Tǎixū's invitation to be one of the founding teachers at the Wuchang Buddhist Seminary 武昌佛學院. There he worked teaching and doing research. One of his main subjects was Buddhist Logic 因明, for the research of which he used texts both from the available Chinese Buddhist Canon and ones he had acquired whilst studying in Japan. At the Seminary, he was in charge of teaching about Indian Buddhism.
During this period, he translated several texts from Japanese, and helped Wáng Ēnyáng 王恩洋 correct certain mistakes regarding Buddhist Logic in the latter's writings.
In 1924, Shǐ became ill from overwork and returned to Shànghǎi to convalesce. Editorship of the Hǎicháo yin1 was handed over to Shǐ's colleague Táng Dàyuán 唐大圓. In late January or early February of 1925, Shǐ knew his time of death was at hand. He asked his family to bathe him, he donned monk's robes, and chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha, passed away.
Important Works
Written by Shǐ:
Translations from the Japanese:
Notable Students (at the Wuchang Buddhist Seminary)
Notes
References: