Ordination Day

The new monk bows, brings 
     padded hands that look 
like peach-colored oven mitts 
     together, as if for prayer.
It receives a Dharma name, Gabi,

     and makes its vows. Yes, 
I will devote myself. 
     I will respect life and not 
cause harm. I will not damage other
     robots or objects. I will obey

humans and not talk back. I will not 
     speak or act in a deceptive manner. 
I will save energy by not overcharging.
     No one needed to shave its head, 
which is made of a smooth metal alloy. 

     In the courtyard of the Jogyesa 
Temple under hundreds of fluttering
     lanterns, monks drape a 108-bead 
prayer necklace around its neck, 
     and affix a sticker to its forearm 

where an incense burn would have been
     applied for the ritual called yeonbi. In '63, 
Quang Duc, another monk (human, not robot) 
     sat in lotus position at the intersection 
of Phan Đình Phùng Boulevard and Lê Văn Duyệt 

     Street, before immolating himself—
an expression of courage and hope, calling on 
     the compassion of the world to look
at injustice. Could the robot monk be capable 
     of acts of resistance or protest? If it were

to set itself on fire, it would simply malfunction 
     then melt. The company that made it might
make another. At Xa Loi Pagoda, a holy relic 
     nestles in a glass chalice — Quang Duc's
heart, whole even after cremation.