Robot Monk 'Gabi' Gets Ordained By South Korea's Largest Buddhist Sect

'Gabi', a humanoid robot, became the first of its kind to be ordained by the Jogye Order, the most prominent Buddhist sect in South Korea, according to news reports on Wednesday.

The robot was a G1 model developed by Unitree Robotics, a Chinese civilian robotics company which was given on loan to the sect for the ceremony, after which, it was returned, according to the Korea Herald.

Gabi took five vows, which consisted of respecting life and not endangering it; refraining from damaging other robots and objects; listening to humans and not talking back to them and not acting or speaking in a deceptive fashion along with saving energy and not overcharging.

"The ordination of a robot signifies that technology must be used in accordance with the values of compassion, wisdom and responsibility, and symbolizes new possibilities for the coexistence of humans and technology," the order said in a statement cited by The New York Times.

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The ceremony is called 'Sugye' and is undertaken by Buddhists to pledge their devotion to the Buddha, his teachings along with the monastery and its community. 

It also took part in another Buddhist ritual known as "yeonbi", where the devotee would typically receive small incense burns on their arms, Gabi was instead given a lotus lantern festival sticker for its arm and a 108 bead prayer necklace to wear around its neck.

The ceremony is reportedly a bid by the Jogye order to increase the average South Korea's interest in Buddhism, which has been on the decline in the country, along with Christianity. The New York Times cited a manager at the sect who stated that he hoped the robot's oradinment might show others that Buddhism is a progressive religion that is not behind the times.

Many netizens criticised the move, arguing that robots did not possess a soul or have the ability to feel and stating that it made the ordainment contradict the tenets of Buddhism as they are popularly understood.

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