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VENERATION OF AN ANDROID BY BUDDHIST MONKS IN JAPAN
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"The big difference between a monk and a robot is that we are going to die, while he will meet a lot of people and store a lot of information that will make it evolve to infinity," says the administrator of the temple Tensho Goto. |
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Kyoto, the former capital of Japan, is considered the birthplace of the Japanese tradition. They are more than 53 million tourists to visit the shrines and temples of the archipelago each year. Built in 1605, Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto is one of the most important Japanese cultural heritages for its Buddhist worship. 
But the temple built by his wife in tribute to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, powerful lord of the sixteenth century, now has an Android Kannon for his preaching to the public. Kannon is the Japanese name of one of the Bodhisattvas - a Buddha before he attained enlightenment - the most famous and most revered in the world. In its Android version, the deity began to officiate in May. It also projects versions translated into English and Chinese on the screen. The android can also move his arms, his chest and his head. And some of its mechanical parts are visible! The robot in question is called Mindar, it was programmed to deliver a sermon in Japanese Heart Sutra, a founding Buddhist text frequently recited mechanically by monks. The temple administrator Tensho Goto wants to recreate the link between the younger generation and Buddhism. He sought the help of Hiroshi Ishiguro, head of intelligent robotics Ulyces at Osaka University. "We hope this Android Kannon will help bring the teachings of Buddhism into the hearts of people today," said Tensho Goto, one of the temple's priests. This ultra-modern Kannon, costing 100 million yen (€ 790,000), can it replace the flesh-and-blood priests still there at the Kodaiji Temple ? |
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| Jaimie Potts for DayNewsWorld | |
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