Buddhist sect welcomes humanoid robot Gabi with precept ceremony

▲ Humanoid robot Gabi folds its hands during a precept ceremony at Jogye Temple in Seoul on May 6, 2026. (Yonhap)

▲ Humanoid robot Gabi circles a tower during a precept ceremony at Jogye Temple in Seoul on May 6, 2026. (Yonhap)

▲ Humanoid robot Gabi draws a heart with its arms during a precept ceremony at Jogye Temple in Seoul on May 6, 2026. (Yonhap)

Buddhism-robot

Buddhist sect welcomes humanoid robot Gabi with precept ceremony

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, May 6 (Yonhap) -- Under a roof of paper lanterns strung across Jogye Temple in downtown Seoul, a group of monks from the Jogye Order, South Korea's largest Buddhist sect, sat across from a postulant awaiting a precept ceremony -- except that postulant was the country's first humanoid robot to take part in the ritual.

Clad in humble black shoes and the Buddhist order's ceremonial gray and brown robe, the 1.3-meter-tall robot stood in front of Buddhist monks and nuns as it pledged to commit itself to Buddhism in the ceremony held Wednesday, ahead of Buddha's Birthday later this month.

The robot folded its hands together and bowed to the monks officiating the ceremony, as one of the monks carefully hung a 108-bead rosary and attached a sticker instead of the original ritual where one has to slightly burn his arms near an incense stick.

"Will you devote yourself to the holy Buddha?" one of the monks asked.

"Yes, I will devote myself," the robot replied in an audible voice.

"Will you devote yourself to the holy teaching?" the monk asked.

"Yes, I will devote myself," the robot answered.

The monk then laid out five precepts, or common vows, for a Buddhist to live by that were altered for the robot.

They included respecting life and not hurting it, not damaging other robots and objects, following humans and not talking back to them, not behaving or speaking in a deceptive manner, and saving energy and not overcharging.

The robot was then given the Buddhist name Gabi, which Ven. Seong Won, who oversees cultural affairs at the Jogye Order, said comes from Siddhartha and the Korean word for mercy.

"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," he told Yonhap News Agency when asked about the naming.

In a congratulatory message, Ven. Seong Won said he hopes Wednesday's ritual will serve as an occasion for our society to co-exist with robots.

"When humanoid robots first appeared three years ago, we thought it would be nice for a robot to take part in Yeondeunghoe, and this marks the first step," he said, referring to the lantern parade held annually to celebrate Buddha's Birthday.

"At the current stage, it might seem a bit awkward ... but we hope the five precepts will be considered as basic principles for not only Buddhists but the society to exist together with robots," he said, saying the Buddhist sect referred to artificial intelligence platforms Gemini and Chat GPT to draw up the five principles.

Gabi will attend the lantern festival set for later this month, along with three other Buddhist robots: Seokja, Mohee and Nisa.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved