Dharma Devices, Non-Hermeneutical Libraries, and Robot-Monks : Prayer Machines in Japanese Buddhism

摘要

This article explores the little-known subject of the presence, in the Japanese Buddhist tradition, of machines (understood here as special tools, instruments, and various mechanical devices) used for the production and proliferation of prayers and prayer-related activities. Following a description of representative examples from various historical periods and ritual contexts (the shakuhachi flute as performed by adepts of the Fuke Zen sect, prayer wheels and rotating sutra repositories, Tokugawa period automata, and, more recently, robot-monks and virtual [online] ritual services), the article discusses the status of those devices within the Buddhist cultural system and the conceptual challenge that they pose to issues of individual agency, religious practice, and, ultimately, soteriology.