Body hair

Discussion of ordination, the Vinaya and monastic life. How and where to ordain? Bhikkhuni ordination etc.
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Future Bhikkhu
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Body hair

Post by Future Bhikkhu »

Can a monk have body hair? All the monks I have seen are hairless. I am from an Italian background so you can imagine how that will be a problem for me. I know that they may not shave their pubic and armpit hair but I am curious to know whether chest hair and the like must be shaved.
The mind is everything; what you think you become.
-The Buddha
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retrofuturist
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Re: Body hair

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,
Future Bhikkhu wrote:Can a monk have body hair?
Yes. The restrictions are about hair on top, and a maximum beard length (though in practice, any beard length raises suspicions). Not just about monks either... :lol:

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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Hanzze
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Re: Body hair

Post by Hanzze »

Dear friends,

maybe this is usefull:
Hair of the body. Nasal hairs should not be grown long. (In the origin story to this rule, people objected to bhikkhus with long nasal hairs "like goblins"). Tweezers are allowed for pulling them out; by extension, scissors should also be allowed for trimming them. The Vinaya-mukha notes that nasal hair performs a useful function in keeping dust out of the lungs, and so interprets this rule as applying only to nasal hairs so long that they grow outside the nostrils.

The hair of the chest or stomach should not be dressed. Hair in a "confining" region — which the Vibhaṅga to the bhikkhunī's parallel rule, their Pc 2, identifies as the armpits and the pubic area — should not be removed unless there is a sore in those areas and a need to apply medicine.
Buddhist Monastic Code II -Chapter 1-Personal Grooming

_/\_
with loving kindness
Just that! *smile*
...We Buddhists must find the courage to leave our temples and enter the temples of human experience, temples that are filled with suffering. If we listen to Buddha, Christ, or Gandhi, we can do nothing else. The refugee camps, the prisons, the ghettos, and the battlefields will become our temples. We have so much work to do. ... Peace is Possible! Step by Step. - Samtach Preah Maha Ghosananda "Step by Step" http://www.ghosananda.org/bio_book.html

BUT! it is important to become a real Buddhist first. Like Punna did: Punna Sutta Nate sante baram sokham _()_
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Future Bhikkhu
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Re: Body hair

Post by Future Bhikkhu »

I have that exact book. :)

What does it mean by the 'chest hair should not be dressed'?
The mind is everything; what you think you become.
-The Buddha
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Hanzze
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Re: Body hair

Post by Hanzze »

_/\_
Last edited by Hanzze on Wed Feb 02, 2011 1:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Just that! *smile*
...We Buddhists must find the courage to leave our temples and enter the temples of human experience, temples that are filled with suffering. If we listen to Buddha, Christ, or Gandhi, we can do nothing else. The refugee camps, the prisons, the ghettos, and the battlefields will become our temples. We have so much work to do. ... Peace is Possible! Step by Step. - Samtach Preah Maha Ghosananda "Step by Step" http://www.ghosananda.org/bio_book.html

BUT! it is important to become a real Buddhist first. Like Punna did: Punna Sutta Nate sante baram sokham _()_
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Future Bhikkhu
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Location: Melbourne,Australia

Re: Body hair

Post by Future Bhikkhu »

Just curious, that's all. I don't mind hair. I just havn't seen a hairy monk.

Thankyou for your effort,

With metta

:anjali:
The mind is everything; what you think you become.
-The Buddha
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