"Each lantern is small, but when lanterns gather, they illuminate the darkness. Likewise, when the mind of each individual finds peace, that peace brightens families, society and the entire nation."
Venerable Jinwoo, Administrative Head of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, made the remarks at a press conference for the "Month of Peace of Mind" held Wednesday at the Korean Buddhism History and Culture Memorial Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The Jogye Order has been running the "Month of Peace of Mind" campaign around Buddha's Birthday since last year to convey Buddhism's values of healing and peace. This year, following the Seoul International Buddhism Expo and the International Seon Meditation Festival held last month, the order will host the Lotus Lantern Festival — a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — on May 16-17.
This year's lantern procession will be joined by "Gabi," a humanoid robot monk who received the precepts the previous day, along with companion robots "Seokja," "Mohui" and "Nisa." Ven. Jinwoo himself named the robot Buddhists, drawing from "Sakyamuni" and the four immeasurable virtues of "loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity" (jabi-huisa).
"Buddhism is perceived as something old, but no religion is more cutting-edge than Buddhism. I wanted to show the cutting-edge side of Buddhism," Ven. Jinwoo said. "From a Buddhist perspective, artificial intelligence is not all that surprising." He added, "We should properly educate AI in Buddhism so that it can play a role in eliminating our suffering. From that perspective, both AI and robots can become members of the four-fold Buddhist community (sabudaejung)."
He stressed that Buddhism's pressing task is to communicate with young people and be reborn as a young and vibrant religion. "Through events such as the Buddhism Expo and the Seon Meditation Festival, we have worked to make Buddhism approachable and enjoyable for the younger generation," Ven. Jinwoo said. "We are considering ways to connect young people who have developed an affinity for Buddhism to becoming practicing Buddhists, and the results will soon become visible." Indeed, 81.7% of visitors to the Seoul International Buddhism Expo last month were from the MZ generation, and those in their 20s and 30s accounted for 55.9% of participants at the International Seon Meditation Festival.
Regarding whether he would run in the next Administrative Head election scheduled for September, Ven. Jinwoo was measured in his words. "It is not appropriate to talk about the election ahead of Buddha's Birthday," he said. "My role as Administrative Head is to manage the election so that it proceeds stably." He added, "I assess that the order has been at its most stable state since I took office as Administrative Head. If the order remains united in stability, difficult issues such as the decline in Buddhists and monastics will resolve themselves." Ven. Jinwoo, who took office as Administrative Head in 2022, has a term that runs until September 27.
