This paper focuses on the labor group that served monks and donors in temples, such as servants, cooks, cleaners, etc. There was a distinct transformation of the monastic economy in the last century that urban Buddhist temples tended to regard the service industry as their main source of income. Accordingly, the role of temple laborers who provided services had become increasingly important, and they would not defer to monks as before. According to the National Labor Act of the Republican government, temple laborers began to organize unions to fight against the exploitation of monks. Based on newspapers, archives, survey reports, and memoirs, this paper analyses the new form of monastic life in early modern Shanghai, attempting to reveal more details about the relationship between the temple labor and monks. Furthermore, this paper also indicates the tension between monks and temple laborers, including religious identity crisis and labor disputes. Through the fate of temple laborers and their employers, we can gain a deeper understanding of the operation of modern Buddhism and explore the economic characteristics of urban Buddhism monasteries from a new perspective.