In 1949 Yinshun went to Hong Kong. Three years later he moved to Taiwan, where he spend the remainder of his life. He founded the Fuyan Institute in Xinzhu and the Huiri Lecture Hall in Taipei, but due to poor health as well as personal inclinations, Yinshun never held any long-term administrative positions and spent his life reading and writing attended by a group of devoted nuns and lay-women. Yinshun debated doctrinal matters with Buddhists, Confucians and Christians in writing, but never involved himself in politics or social work. During the 50ʼs and 60ʼs Yinshun traveled extensively, visiting the overseas Chinese Buddhist communities in Southeast Asia, especially in the Philippines. In 1973 Taishō University awarded Yinshun an honorary doctorate for his work on the history of Chan Buddhism. During the seventies and eighties he published large monographs on Buddhist doctrinal history that expanded and developed his earlier research.

During a period of over fifty years Yinshun published more than 40 monographs and an even larger number of essays. When he stopped writing in 1990, he was one of the most widely read authors among Chinese Buddhists and his views of Buddhism, past and present, had deeply influenced two generations of monastics and Chinese Buddhist scholarship. In Taiwan he has influenced a large number of Buddhist scholars including Ven. Zhengyan 證嚴 the founder and leader of Ciji, the largest Buddhist organization in Taiwan, Ven. Houguan 厚觀, the director of the Fuyan Institute, Ven. Zhaohui 昭慧, the leader of the Hongshi Institute, Li Zhifu 李志夫, Director of the Chung-hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies, as well as Lan Jifu 藍吉富, Jiang Canteng 江燦騰, and Yang Yuwen 楊郁文.

In Taiwan, China and among the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia Yinshun is renowned for his promotion of a 'Buddhism of the Human Realm (renjian fojiao 人間佛教),' a term that already was used in the early thirties by the reformist circle around Taixu. Yinshun always regarded Taixu as his teacher and between 1947 and 1953 edited his collected works in 30 vols. Although both are Mahayanist in outlook, Yinshunʼs emphasis within the Mahāyāna tradition is very different from that of Taixu. While for Taixu the later, more sinitic teachings, e.g. of the Dasheng qixin lun 起信論 or the Chan school 禪宗, form the apex of Buddhism, Yinshun considers the works of Nāgârjuna and other early Madhyamaka 中觀派 scriptures to be the most precise formulation of Buddhist truth.

The bulk of his work is concerned with the history of Buddhist thought, especially the development in India, which he researched through Chinese sources, sometimes supported by Japanese secondary literature. Yinshunʼs historiography is a mixture of traditional and modern approaches. While on the content level his main contribution consisted in a reorientation towards the Indian roots of Buddhism, on the formal level he must be credited with the introduction of the academic monograph to Buddhist historiography. After Yinshunʼs sustained, documented discussions of Buddhist doctrinal history that were formed by this medium, Chinese Buddhist historiography will never be the same.

Bibliography

A) Works by Yinshun:

The Miaoyunji 妙雲集 (The collection Miaoyunji 妙雲集 (first ed. 1969–1973) is perhaps the most widely distributed collections of contemporary Buddhist literature in Chinese. It can be found in nearly any Buddhist library.)

Section I: Sūtra Lectures

1. Banruo jing jiangji 般若經講記 . First ed.1948. Yanpei 演培, Xuming 續明 (eds.)

2. Baoji jing jiangji 寶積經講記 . First ed. 1964. (Yinshun treats only the Kāśyapaparivarta part (T. 310(43), 350, 351, 352, 1523))

3. Shengman jing jingji 勝鬘經講記 . First ed. 1951. Yanpei 演培, Xuming 續明 (eds.)

4. Yaoshi jing jiangji 藥師經講記 . First ed. 1954. Miaofeng 妙峰, Changjue 常覺 (eds.)

5. Zhongguan lun song jiangji 中觀論頌講記 . Lecture 1942. First ed. 1952. Yanpei 演培 (ed.)

6. Shedacheng lun jiangji 攝大乘論講記 . Lectures 1941. First ed. 1946. Yanpei 演培, Miaoqin 妙欽, Wenhui 文慧 (eds.)

7. Dasheng qixin lunjiangji 大乘起信論講記 . First ed. 1951. Yanpei 演培 und Xuming 續明 (eds.)

Section II: Monographs

8. Fofa gailun 佛法概論 . First ed. 1949. Revised 1954.

9. Zhongguan jinlun 中觀今論 . Aufgezeichnet von Xuming 1947. Erstauflage 1950.

10. Weishixue tanyuan 唯識學探源 . Lecture and First ed. 1944. Revised 1970.

11. Xingkongxue tanyuan 性空學探源 . Miaoqin (ed.) 1944. First ed. 1946. Later revised by Yinshun as Kong zhi tanyuan. (1985)

12. Chengfo zhi dao 成佛之道 . First ed. 1960.

13. Taixu dashi nianpu 太虛大 師年譜 . First ed. 1950.

Section III: Essay-collections

14. Fo zai ren jian 佛在人間 .

15. Xue fo san yao 學佛三要 .

16. Yi fofa yanjiu fofa 以佛法硏究佛法 . Contains a.o: Yi fofa yanjiu fofa 以佛法硏究佛法 (first ed. 1954), 1-14

17. Jingtu yu 淨土與禪 . Contains a.o:Jingtu xin lun 淨土新論. , 1-75; Nianfo qianshuo. 念佛淺說, 77-122

18. Qingnian de fojiao 青年的 佛教 . Contains a.o.. Gaoji foxue jiaokeshu. 高級佛學教科書, 172-231

19. Wo zhi zongjiaoguan 我之 宗教觀 . Contains a.o.. Shangdi ai shiren. 上帝愛世人, 179-216. Shangdi ai shiren de zai taolun 上帝愛世人的再討論 . , 217-274. Shangdi yu yehehua zhi jian 上帝與耶和華之間 .

20. Wu zheng zhi bian 無諍之辯 . Contains a.o.. Ping Xiong Shili de Xin weishi lun 評熊十力的新唯識論 . Written 1948. First Ed. Hongkong 1950, 1-56.

21. Jiaozhi jiaodian yu jiaoxue 教制教典與教學 .

22. Fojiaoshi dikao lun 佛教史地考論 .

23. Huayu xiangyun 華雨香雲 . Contains the obituaries on Taixu, Shoupei, Daxing etc.

24. Fofa shi qiushi zhi guang 佛法是求世之光 .

Selected Monographs by Yinshun not included in the Miaoyunji:

1981. Chuqi dacheng fojiao zhi qiyuan yu kaizhan 初期大乘佛教之起源與開展 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞 .

1993. Dazhidulun zhi zuozhe ji qi fanshi 大智度論之作者及其翻譯 . Taipei:  Dongzong 東宗 .

1993. Huayu ji 華雨集 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞 .

1995. Huayu xuanji 華雨選集 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞 .

1985. Kong zhi tanjiu 空之探究 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞 . cf. Miaoyunji. 11

1994. Pingfan de yi sheng 平凡的一生 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞 . 23, 1-174. Revised. Second Revision 2005 (contains short passages about his marriage)

1981. Rulaizang zhi yanjiu 如來藏之研究 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞 .

1968. Shuoyiqieyoubu weizhu de lunshu yu lunshi zhi yanjiu 說一切有部為主的論書與論 師之研究 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞 .

1963. Wangsheng jingtu lun jiangji 往生淨土論講 . Huayuji collection. 1, pp. 355–406.

1988. Yindu fojiao sixiang shi 印度佛教思想史 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞.

1985. Yindu zhi fojiao 印度之佛教 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞.

1985. Youxin fahai liushi nian 遊心法海六十年 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞.

1971. Yuanshi fojiao shengdian zhi jicheng 原始佛教聖典之集成 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞.

1983. Za ahan jing lun hui bian 雜阿含經論會編 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞 . 3 vols.

1971. Zhongguo chanzong shi: cong yindu chan dao zhonghua chan 中國禪宗史：從印度禪到中華禪 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞 .

1990. Zhongguo gudai minzu shenhua yu wenhua yanjiu 中國古代民族神話與文化硏究 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞 . First ed. Huagang 華岡 1975

B) Works on Yinshun:

1985. Yinshun daoshi de sixiang yu xuewen —Yinshun daoshi bashi shouqing lunwenji 印順導師的思想與學問 —印順導師八 十壽慶論文集 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞.

----, ed. 2000. Yinshun sixiang —Yinshun daoshi jiu zhi jin wu shouqing lunwen ji 印順思想─印順導師九秩晉五壽慶論文集 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞.

2002. Renjian fojiao yu dangdai duihua 人間佛教 與當代對話 . Taoyuan:  Hongshi wenjiao 弘誓文教. Proceedings of the 3rd Yinshun conference (2002/4/20-21)

1987. Fahai weibo 法海微波 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞 .

Bingenheimer, Marcus. 2004. Der Mönchsgelehrte Yinshun (*1906) und seine Bedeutung für den Chinesisch-Taiwanischen Buddhismus im 20. Jahrhundert. (The Scholar Monk Yinshun - His Relevance for the Development of Chinese and Taiwanese Buddhism) . Heidelberg:  Edition Forum (Würzburger Sinologische Schriften) .

Guo Peng 郭朋. 1992. Yinshun foxue sixiang yanjiu 印順佛學思想硏究 . Taipei:  Zhengwen 正聞.

Hurley, Scott C. 2001. “A Study of Master Yinshunʼs Hermeneutics: An Interpretation of the Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine.” University of Arizona. Unpublished PhD. thesis

Pan Xuan 潘烜. 2002. Kanjian Fotuo zai renjian —Yinshun daoshi zhuan 看見佛陀在人間 —印順導師傳 . Taipei:  Tianxia wenhua 天下文化.

Shi Qingde 釋淸德. 2001. Yinshun daoshi de lüxue sixiang 印順導師的 律學思想 . Taipei:  Yunlong 雲龍.

Travagnin, Stefania. 2004. “Master Yinshun and the Pure Land Thought.”  Acta Orientalia 57-3 : 271–328.

Wen Jinke 溫金柯. 2001. Jicheng yu pipan —yinshun fashi renjian fojiao sixiang 繼承 與批判 —印順法師人間佛教思想 . Taipei:  Xiandaichan chubanshe 現代禪出版社.