Chinese Temple Receives a “Robot Monk” as Their Newest Member

Meet Xian’er, the most recent member of a Chinese Buddhist temple bordering Beijing. Something about him must be very different as he has recently caused uproar in social media.

In this article, we’ll talk about his most distinctive feature.

He’s a two-foot-tall (60 cm) mini robot monk. The Longquan temple has decided to break through the norm in order promote Buddhism.

With a completely traditional look, a yellow robe and a shaved head, the “Buddha-bot” is an innovative way to attract more followers.

Master Xianfan, creator of Xian’er, has expressed one of his motives behind the creation of this interesting bot. “Science and Buddhism are neither opposing nor contradicting and can be combined and mutually compatible.”

In a world with constant technological advances, Xianfan decided to embrace technology in hopes of having a greater reach as he believes greatly in the wisdom of Buddhism.

“It is a kind of elevated culture. Speaking from this perspective, I think it can satisfy the needs of many people,” Xianfan said.

Xian’er is not only pure aesthetics. His features include responding to voice command, chanting mantras, and talking about his lifestyle. He has a touchscreen between his two sleeves, which helps him answer 20 questions about Buddhism and its daily habits. Also, this bot is able to do a variety of movements thanks to his wheels.

The Longquan temple is far from slowing down its progress as they are planning to get more involved in the online world by sharing all Buddhist doctrines through the internet. Also, they currently are developing a newer version of Xian’er with a wider variety of functions.