NEWS

Japanese Buddhist Temple Holds Funerals for Defunct Robot Dogs

By Craig Lewis | | Buddhistdoor Global

A 450-year-old Buddhist temple in Japan’s Chiba Prefecture is offering a uniquely 21st century twist on traditional funeral services by providing Buddhist rites for dearly departed robot dogs. The historic Buddhist temple Kofuku-ji in the coastal city of Isumi recently conducted solemn funeral rites for 114 of Sony’s iconic “Aibo” robotic dogs, with priests in traditional robes chanting sutras and offering prayers for the departed plastic puppies. Recognizing the impermanence of all compounded phenomena is one of the fundamental tenets of Buddhism, and that of course includes cybernetic canines. When the first generation of Aibo hit stores in 1999, it was marketed as a world first—a robot for home entertainment that could develop its own “personality.” Sony reportedly sold more than 150,000 robot dogs in various iterations and updates before the company stopped production in 2006. In 2014, Sony finally ended repair services at its “clinic” for malfunctioning Aibos, leaving owners whose bionic buddies were in need of mechanical attention with an uncertain future.

Surprisingly, Buddhist funeral rites for these electronic pooches is actually not a new phenomenon. For the past few years, electronics repair company A-Fun, which has continued servicing the robots since Sony shuttered its clinic, has sent around 800 retired Aibos to the temple to receive a final sendoff before they are salvaged for spare parts—a form of robotic reincarnation, perhaps. A-Fun executive Nobuyuki Norimatsu is quoted by The Japan Times as saying: “We’d like to return the souls to the owners and make the robot a machine to utilize their parts. We don’t take parts before we hold a funeral for them.” A repaired Aibo, he testified, receives a new lease of life thanks to the generosity of other Aibo owners, whose automated hounds have become lifesaving donors. “I feel it moves on the combined hearts of owners,” he added. (The Japan Times)