The Buddha-nature in the Robot

By Chow Kooi Su

A modern robot engineer has invented a security robot stationing at the guard post in front of the manufacturing factory of an ultra-modern multinational company in Japan. The security robot is even armed with a machine gun. His main duty is to welcome factory workers and friendly visitors to enter the premise after some security check is performed. Meanwhile, he watches vigilantly and guards against potential unfriendly intruders, such as thieves, robbers drug-addicts , robbers or terrorists. The robot is so programmed that it is wise and capable of distinguishing between a friend or an enemy. It either stops the entrance of an enemy or shoots the enemy if the security of the manufacturing factory is threatened. The security robot is able to function exactly like a human security guard. It is a soulless machine with all the necessary conglomerated or assembled components. There is Buddha-nature in the security robot !

Commentary:

The above story is not a fiction but a true story of modern robotic engineering product. Besides, robotic dancers, robotic mechanics, robotic surgeons, pilotless aircraft and so forth have been invented by robot engineers in Korea, Japan, United States of America, India, China and other advanced nations in Europe. The robots are mere physical personalities conglomerated from various components. They all function without any souls. Likewise, the Buddha promulgates that the human beings are conglomerated from five aggregates of form, feelings, perceptions, volitions and consciousness without any Soul or
Self.

A Japanese robot engineer exerted once that there is Buddha-nature not only in Man but also in the robots. Gorge Grimm, who authored the Buddhist text ‘ Doctrine of the Buddha’, asserted that a human personality is merely a machine of suffering, that is, devoid of a soul or self. In modern terminology, the human being is a robot of suffering as it is infested and assailed by the viruses. When the viruses are wiped out, the virusless robot functions perfectly without giving any technical trouble or problem. Recently, the writer watched the TV programme ‘Beyond Tommorrow’ and was pleasantly astonished that automobile engineers have invented a motor-vehicle like a car which moves along an uncertain road without any driver. The vehicle was earlier trained by a human instructor to undergo a Learner driving course . Robot engineering inventions have verified the Buddha-nature or the natural law of dependent co-arising in all conditioned phenomenon. A robot is a conditioned physio-engineering phenomenon. Similarly, the human personality is a psycho-physical or psycho-ethical phenomenon. It is empty of soul, the Buddha declares.