Abstract: The state-religion relationship is an important topic in the Chinese religion. Based on the history of Chinese Buddhism， this paper uses a historical-comparative perspective to review the issues pertaining to the formation of Buddhist monasteries and the development of their organizations. In the context of a parallel yet competing relationship between Sila and tu-tieh， Sila could be perceived as a mechanism for an organizational identity and a manifestation of the selfgovernance effort of the Buddhist groups. The analysis of the origin， function， and nature of Tu-Tieh， which was one of the traditional religious ruling tactics during the Chinese Empire， led to the conclusion that， in essence， this system reflected the authority position of politics above religion， which in reality had turned out to be an instrument for profits in its implementation. Through the historical， empirical comparison， the author holds that the disciplines and principles in the religious organizations may become a mechanism to bring about social organizations， and argues that the cornerstone in the state-religion relationship is the autonomous characteristic and the selfgovernance competence of the religious organizations. This should be the premise for state regulation of the religion.

Key words: regulation, state-religion relationships, Sila（Jielv）, Tu-Tieh（DuDie）