AI Tech / news
Abandoned Buddhas in Suzhou Village Contrast With Tech-Driven Buddhist World
In Suzhou’s Chongshan Village, hundreds of abandoned Buddha and deity statues rest in fields after being discarded by temples, shrines and factories. Their stillness contrasts with a Buddhist world increasingly adopting robots and AI, including a $1 million robotic priest at Japan’s Kodaiji Temple.
The statues were left behind by temples undergoing renovations, relocated shrines and defunct factories. Over time they have gathered in the dirt around Chongshan, forming what has become an accidental graveyard for divine figures.
For a generation immersed in technology, the silent rows of weathered icons raise a pointed question: what will happen to the abandoned Buddhas?
Elsewhere in the Buddhist world, tradition and technology are colliding. At Japan’s Kodaiji Temple, Mindar was introduced as a $1 million robotic priest modeled after Kannon, the deity of mercy. The robot is designed to recite the Heart Sutra and display English and Chinese projections, aiming to engage younger visitors who may feel disconnected from traditional monks.
Developers have also launched AI chatbots trained on Buddhist scriptures, extending the digital push into religious teaching and practice.
The contrast is stark: the Chongshan statues remain exposed to the elements while Buddhist institutions adopt increasingly sophisticated tools. The abandoned figures sit in a village in Suzhou, where hundreds of Buddha and deity statues now occupy the fields.