Why do Buddhist monastics have no hair? | Thich Nhat Hanh answers questions

Thay answers questions on 21 June 2014. Question 3
Topics: mindfulness, thich nhat hanh, plum village, children, kids, buddhism, hair, monk, monastic, celibacy
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[@nobromotomo5160]

I am a layperson, but I recently shaved my head to help better understand the Buddhist concept of impermanence.

[@d1ssolv3r]

It's easier!

[@lewistyler2932]

I 100% guarantee you will be more confidence when you go fully bald, you literally feel different when you shave your head.

[@PedroF1981]

You feel lighter lol

[@gurbaazgill232]

So god gave us unwanted thing

[@YesitisDex]

@@gurbaazgill232 who? Lol

[@gurbaazgill232]

@@YesitisDexThe hair grown on you is alive , budha shaved his head but when idk how many snails saw that he may have heat stroke they gave their life and sat on his head but if he had hairs he wouldn’t have got the heat stroke hence , snails didn’t need to die on his head , but yes budh did lots meditation he has my respect for that

[@jassimarsingh6505]

@@gurbaazgill232 bro what is this heatstroke you are talking about. Also God has given us hair so we look beautiful. It’s a gift and you can alternate it. Hair and world is temporary. Also Buddha rejected God.

[@Peace4All09]

In Mind Yoga i had a long cue going all the way down my back which symbolises The Lotus which grows out of the mud & into the Light, then i shaved it all off. i had walked both my Parents home to Transition after their long battles with cancer, losing the hair was a letting go of all that was & restarting anew. My hair has grown again & it is uncomfortable. I am Brahmacharya but the shaving of hair taught me how attached i had been to having very long hair & didn't notice this. I do a lot of cutting off now, not just my hair. Thank You Thay & Thank You to The Sweet Soul with her big smile! ✨

[@ruwanwlr9388]

And comfort is another reason I have heard , you don't have to worry about tics , Dandruff and sweating!

[@bigfishartwire4696]

Ruwan Jayarathne in certain weather conditions it’s very painful to have no hair covering your scalp from the sun or the cold.

[@nilchavan9635]

Wear Cap ?

[@lastnamefirst4035]

Eww...tics

[@ConexionHumanaOficial]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Dear Thay for sharing your wisdom. Evangelina Cortes.

[@ziggy33399]

I like this explanation . Had no idea why they chose to shave their heads. Some have little chunks of hair they leave at the bottom of the back of the head & I’ve wondered about that tradition too (too shy to ask) .

[@usmansheikh7717]

Thank You!

[@binhminh417]

I'm not a Buddhist but believe in and try to follow Buddha's teachings. To me, he is very first founding father of philology. Gautama Buddha cut his long hair short when he began his quest for enlightenment but didn't shave his head. Such initiation practice that most monks and nuns must go through when entering a monastery occurred long after the death of Buddha in 544 BCE as a symbolic gesture of letting go of the ego, the self, and the vanity that goes along with it.

[@abouttraveling4787]

You are a Buddhist if you follow buddha's teaching because real buddhism is in buddha's teachings.

[@sonjapetrovic2809]

@@abouttraveling4787 Jesus was a Buddah! Cuz He was enlightened & that's all Buddah means! He was the Christ = annointed One & Rabbi = teacher! He was Thee All! 🙏🏼

[@abouttraveling4787]

@@sonjapetrovic2809 He was enlightened by following Buddha he was enlightened one but not the awakened one .

[@sonjapetrovic2809]

@@abouttraveling4787 What's the difference? It's the same thing.

[@abouttraveling4787]

@@sonjapetrovic2809 No it is not Enlightened means all knowing of this body and Brain but that which hasn't awakened from the dream of existence but Awakened one is one who is all known of the body and brain and also has awakened from the dream of existence.

[@alexivanovs]

so thoughtful :)))

[@petagonkyi]

WIthout hair you have more time to practice as you don't have to spend time for hair care.

[@seeker6389]

@@enstigatorofficial the kagyu lineage of Tibetan buddhist tradition usually grow their hair and it dreads up like the sadhus of india.

[@RyanJamesDuffy]

Dumb

[@pedrosanchez9351]

Always in ours hart ❤️🙏💯

[@CountofHazelview]

Two reasons: Reminds us if our purity when we were born (no hairs)… and second, detachment from the world, and its vanities.

[@heidrunbettinaschmidt9951]

💓🙏💓Ich liebe den Humor

[@NoName-bp1od]

all Buddha want is people do the good things, wish peace to the world, happy, no pain. keep hair or not is their choice, Bs Buddha has nice hair too.

[@varunsharma3532]

Aum Namah Mundah - always learning new Aum Namah Keshdhaari - knows things

[@subbalakshmisubrahmanyam4207]

🙏🙏🙏

[@centralprocessingunit2564]

Q: why dont buddhists have any hair? A: to save on shampoo

[@nurhesen]

I shaved my head few days ago and i look like a loser. It sure helped me lose my ego though. You cannot have an ego when you look ugly. There were some girls that were desperate for me last month and i didn't care how much they showed interest in me. But now after shaving my head i appreciate every bit of attention.

[@hope2251]

If you would have an uncut long hair you would leave your ego even more

[@nurhesen]

@@hope2251 I had long hair before and girls complimented it all the times which made my ego go up. So i don't think long hair does the trick

[@hope2251]

@@nurhesen no like the hair you had, I'm talking about the like a Sikh or buddha

[@arslaanpasha3334]

@@nurhesen long hair is love

[@aiai-j7i]

LOL! Yeah, I am sure they were so "desperate" for you.

[@thangchoollast5026]

The reason why monks shave their hair is because in the past, Asians had a tradition that hair was the first thing a parent ever gave birth to, a man would rather lose his head rather than lose a chignon is called gentleman ( The Junzi ) . When people shave all their hair , they cut it and give up their ordinary lives to become a monk devoted to Buddhism.

[@ilonkaleibfried2142]

😊😍

[@huyvan926]

I can't listen all thay'answer. Someone help me write here 3 reason of Thay. Thanks

[@truongsonlata]

một là không phải để tiết kiệm dầu gội.thứ hai là lời nhắc mọi người khác rằng họ là thầy tu và mọi người không nên tiếp cận để chiếm hữu.thứ ba là lời phật dạy,mỗi sáng tỉnh dậy,thầy tu sờ vào đầu để tự nhắc rằng mình đã đi tu và hãy làm tròn bổn phận của mình.

[@NoName-bp1od]

co sub o duoi do, k nhin thay hay sao

[@sonjapetrovic2809]

I always thought it was for cleanliness reasons?

[@rac7773]

All I know is that except for many black females, the shaved heads serve to desexualize women.

[@Cumminswc]

I cut my hair bald

[@yellow6100]

Why are they so attached to not having hair?

[@Kenji17171]

I think it has a symbolic value too. And when you see a bald guy with yellow clothes you can understand he is buddhist, it has a function.

[@JayBowen]

I think it has something to do symbolically with giving up all worldly possessions.

[@woodlandcritterpunch]

It's not that they're attached to not having hair, it's that their hair is not attached

[@d1ssolv3r]

Shaving hair is symbolic of renunciation. I shave my hair to show I do not care how I look. Whether that's ironic in the way that I care that I should look as if I do not care, anyone could attribute that. But I'm not worried about that. Think what you want.

[@yellow6100]

@@d1ssolv3r if youre shaving to show you dont care then shave half your head and leave the rest so you look like a freak. thatll show you dont care even better.

[@blueredkoa7795]

God so loved the world He sent His one and only Son so whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life - John 3:16

[@RyanJamesDuffy]

Thanks for citing you novel for us.

[@PK-fr5vp]

He does not know the ten principle of monk in buddhism monk not only shave thier heads but also thier eye brow

[@xuanthangnguyen8729]

Don't believe because it in principle! believe your self

[@suryaprakashg]

Why every image of Gautam Buddha is with hair then?

[@mattallen5668]

Ask him if everyone take cannibis then everyone is happy everyone share everywhere love Everyone live share

[@huypham-wy2pn]

Buddha didn't shave his head. It doesn't matter. It's like circumcision in Christianity. You got circumcised in your soul. 🙏❤

[@idonigboobu1999]

Understandable, I respect his point of view but I agree more with the advice Confucius gave regarding how one wears their hair. One has to remember that for many such was used as a punishment for criminal elements in their society and as a form of subordination. Most Black men disregarding Africans in mourning, and some religious practitioners, have no clue why they shave their head, a monk may wear such hairstyle to rid himself of vanity but for most Black men it is a form of vanity. Satanists also shave their heads and often this hair style is promoted in freemasonry along with tattoos. All are free to their own choices but for a Black person this is a significant part of his identity. We should perhaps be thoughtful before we eliminate this aspect of our identity. Doing it to follow a fad could be following fads that are designed to remove one's individual identities. That is not saying a Black man cannot have a good reason for such a hair style but we most remember Chinese prisoners in America were shaved to humiliate them, Blacks as prisoners and slaves were often shaved as well, our children must be proud of their "good hair" nappy or not, curly or kinky!!!!

[@kubasniak]

Dude you are out of your mind. There's so many men who also go through balding process and just decide to shave. Being bald is not always to do with some ideology...

[@FreeHumorLight]

the people all around think he' s so funny laughing at everything. wierd

[@gurbaazgill232]

So in budhism you can’t have family to connect with god and have salvation , gautam buddha left his wife and children to meditate under tree . But god’s name should be so powerful that where ever you are , you can connect with that one ☝️