In news that sounds like a sci-fi movie pitch, a humanoid robot named Gabi just made history in South Korea. It participated in a full-blown Buddhist initiation ceremony at Seoul's Jogyesa Temple, becoming the first non-human to officially join such a ritual in the country.
Standing 130 centimeters tall and draped in traditional brown Buddhist robes, Gabi — developed by China's Unitree Robotics — joined a chorus of monks in prayer during the "sugye" ceremony. This is the solemn ritual where devotees formally pledge their commitment to Buddha and his teachings. Because apparently, that's where we are now.
Gabi's New Name and Rules
During the ceremony, Gabi pressed its palms together in a prayer gesture, bowing alongside monks and nuns. It was then given the Dharma name "Gabi," which means mercy in Korean. Ven. Seong Won, who handles cultural affairs for the Jogye Order, explained the choice: "We tried to give a name that is not too hard to pronounce and old-fashioned, and a name that stands for spreading Buddha’s mercy around the world." Which, if you think about it, is both impressive and slightly terrifying.
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Start Your News DetoxWhen a monk asked if Gabi would commit to Buddha's teachings, the robot responded with a clear, calm, "Yes, I will devote myself." No existential crisis, no glitching — just pure, robotic devotion.
Gabi even underwent purification rituals typically reserved for new monks. A 108-bead rosary was placed around its neck, and a sticker was affixed to its arm, symbolically replacing the traditional yeonbi practice of small incense burns on the skin. Because, you know, robot arms are probably not great with open flames.
The Buddhist Five Precepts, the core moral guidelines, were also rewritten for Gabi. AI tools like Gemini and ChatGPT reportedly helped with the translation. The new rules for our metallic monk include gems like:
- Respect life and do not harm it.
- Avoid damaging other robots or objects.
- Obey humans and do not talk back. (A rule many teenagers could use, frankly.)
- Refrain from deceptive speech or behavior.
- Save energy and avoid overcharging.
Ven. Seong Won noted that this ceremony marks an early, fascinating step toward humans and machines sharing spiritual spaces. The idea for a robot monk apparently sparked three years ago, and now Gabi is set to appear again at the upcoming Lotus Lantern Festival later this month, alongside three other Buddhist-themed robots named Seokja, Mohee, and Nissa.
It seems that in South Korea, the path to enlightenment might just involve a firmware update.
