It may seem like an out there move, but a 400-year-old Japanese temple has brought in a robot named Mindar to preach sermons.

The adult-sized android, modeled after Kannon Bodhisattva, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, was introduced to the Kodaiji temple in Kyoto earlier this year.

Although some critics have compared it to "Frankenstein's monster," Mindar has gone down well with colleagues, who say it's doing wonders for the spiritual tradition founded by Siddhartha Gautama over 2,500 years ago.

"The big difference between a monk and a robot is that we are going to die," says Buddhist monk Tensho Goto, emphasizing the android's "immortality."