The Center is a benchmark project for digital Buddhism successfully launched in Thailand by NetDragon following its display of the United Nations Vesak Day Metaverse last year. It is also Thailand’s first national digital Buddhist research base to be established after the release of the “Summary of the 2023-2037 Buddhist Promotion Master Plan.”
The center is led by Most Ven.Prof. Dr. Phra Brahmapundit, member of the Supreme Sangha Committee of Thailand, Chairman of the International Council of the United Nations Vesak Day, Chairman of the International Association of Buddhist Universities, and former President of Mahachulalongkorn University. After visiting the center, Most Ven. affirmed the effort of NetDragon and supported the following work for the deployment of Thai digital Buddhism. He hoped that the research center could comprehensively promote and present the modernization and future development model of Thai Buddhism.
Mi Xiong, General Manager of NetDragon Digital Religion Department, accompanied Most Ven. and his team throughout the visit, introducing the digital products in the center. Mi Xiong expressed great honor in assisting the Thailand National Center for The Dissemination of Buddhism in constructing the first national-level digital Buddhist research base and pledged to continue exploring the use of digital power to assist in the dissemination of Thai Buddhism and world Buddhist culture.
During this debut, the Center showcased several digital Buddhist projects, including AR Vision -Nine Ball Meditation, which is a tool jointly developed by NetDragon and Rokid that combines Rokid’s latest AR glasses to provide users with auditory, visual, and even tactile assistance for meditation. Rokid AR breaks the barriers between the body and space through “AI+AR,” utilizing spatial computing capabilities of “visualization” and “interaction,” allowing participants to enter a space of intelligent creation. This not only brings a new experience to meditation but also provides a new form of experience that is observable, touchable, and experiential for practices, Buddhist education, and the dissemination of Buddhist wisdom and culture. After experiencing it, Most Ven. expressed that this new form of digital practice will have a broader and deeper inspiration for Buddhist education, deserving further exploration and promotion.
The research center also demonstrated the Digital religion standing machine, a product that combines online guided tours, online offering of lights, and pre-booking of Buddhist events using an H5 platform as a carrier for online and offline services. Most Ven. greatly admired this product, stating that it was exactly the digital temple form he had been wanting for years. After receiving affirmation, Mi Xiong proposed vigorously promoting the ecological model of digital temples in Thailand.
Additionally, the center also displayed AR tour guide and interactive experience installations that combine VR technology with Buddhist themes. It also features the ActivPanel 9, a new interactive tablet from Promethean, which has approximately 30% market share globally for smart screens. The Promethean smart screen will provide an integrated, immersive, interactive classroom and various smart teaching software tools for future Buddhist education.
The completion and debut of the Digital Buddhist Research Center will provide a more diverse range of discussion topics for the upcoming United Nations Vesak Day and welcome eminent monks, scholars, and professors from around the world to visit and experience. Mi Xiong stated that the department is prepared to exchange and learn from professionals in the world of Buddhism and will focus on promoting the global dissemination of Buddhist culture and supporting the development of Buddhist education using advanced technology.
In the future, the Digital Buddhism Research & Innovation Center will explore expandable, sustainable, and reconstructable digital Buddhist worlds in the areas of teaching, propagation, experience, and research. NetDragon Digital Religion Department will also utilise the center as a base to assist the United Nations in promoting and deploying digital Buddhism in various Buddhist universities and institutions. By utilizing advanced software and hardware, AI, VR, and AR technologies, as well as gamification, modern technology, and modern healing methods, the department aims to innovate the dissemination of Buddhist culture and help establish a strong and sustainable way of life and values.
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