There is a new attraction in Beijing's Longquan Temple and it is the 60 cm tall robot Xian'er.
Xian'er is a robot who looks like a Buddhist monk and he can answer any question you may have about Buddhism. Many netizens and visitors of the temple love this little robot who can interact with visitors, play Buddhist music and even answer simple questions - may it be your name or Buddhism-related questions.
Xian'er is actually the protagonist to the series "Trouble, you seek for yourself" which was launched October last year by the Longquan Temple for its paritioners. According to the monk's creator Master Xianfan, they wanted to use Xian'er as a way to introduce Buddhism in a modern way. He also used traditional Chinese painting to design the bubbly robot monk.
This robot monk also has a following in both Weibo and WeChat as a means to reach out to them and speak about Buddhism. The temple had also introduced Buddhism and its wisdom through other means such as comic books, music videos, virtual reality scenarios and animation shows. However, for those who wish to buy their very own Xian'er, the Longquan Temple said that they will not be commercializing this robot and it will be the only one in existence.
Master Xianfan said that they are planning to make a second version of Xian'er which is more intelligent than the first version.
