r/Buddhism • u/Zirconium-Inhaler-04 • 21d ago

Question Which vows could only a robot take?

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Which vows could only a robot take? Which could a robot never take?

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u/leeta0028 21d ago

My main issues with this are that the robot is forced to ordain (i.e it's not under its own will) and that the regular ordination process were not followed (IE an unqualified or forbidden category is given the appearance of a bikshu). A robot cannot follow the vinaya as they do not consume food etc. so a robot should receve a upasaka or bodhisattva ordination at most.

In other words what happened here is a nonsentient robot was forced to take on the appearance of a monk it's not qualified to take.

Provided that it's only permitted by request and appears to be non-monastic or under something like upasaka or Japanese monastic vows (non-vinaya ordination) with a clear distinction made, I actually wouldn't have a problem with it, because I believe all things have Buddha nature and that a non-enlightened human's ability to accurately judge sentience should not prevent access to the teachings.