Japan: an android bodhisattva officiates at Kyōto

Last updated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 PM

Never short of imagination to try to awaken Japanese interest in Buddhism, the leaders of the Rinzai Kodai-ji Zen temple of Kyōto presented to the public, at the end of February 2019, an android bodhisattva named Midar. This highly technological representation of Kannon (Avalokiteśvara) was programmed to deliver a sermon in Japanese on Sūtra of the Heart, one of the most popular texts on Mahāyāna.

Buddhism has spread phenomenally around the world through the emergence of Buddhist images," said Tensho Goto, a monk at the temple. We want a lot of people to come and see the android Kannon and reflect on the essence of Buddhism. We hope he will help the Buddhist teachings reach the hearts of people today. »

The android will also project the translated English and Chinese versions on the screen. He can also move his arms, torso and head and some of his mechanical parts are visible!

This robot is the product of a collaboration between the Zen temple and Hiroshi Ishiguro, professor of intelligent robotics at the University of Osaka. Its construction cost 100 million yen (790,000€).

Source: Buddhist Door