The robot monk the protagonist of cartoon series "Trouble, you seek for yourself" published by Longquan (Dragon Spring) Temple, is developed by the temple with artificial intelligence experts. “The 50cm tall, Xian’er” is able to sense his surroundings and answer deep questions about Buddhism.
Their aim is to engage with new and contemporary audiences, continuing a trend by the Longquan Temple to take a modern approach to promoting Buddhism, including through social media. The temple’s Master Xuecheng was the first monk on the Chinese mainland to start a blog, and in a similar fashion the tech savvy Xian’er has done away with traditional educational materials, clutching a snazzy iPad-like device instead (albeit with a slightly bewildered expression).
