Bad hair days

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octobersun79
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Bad hair days

Post by octobersun79 »

Hi All

So my question is this. Should Buddhists shave all of the hair off, or have it trimmed into a more practical way?

Thanks

Caroline
Last edited by octobersun79 on Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
perkele
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by perkele »

octobersun79 wrote:So my question is this. Should Buddhists shave all of the hair off, or have it trimmed into a more practical way?
Buddhist, like everyone else, should wear their hair the way they like it, the way it suits them, the way it is practical or whatever other way it makes sense for them.

Seriously, what kind of question is that? As long as you are not a nun there are no regulations coming from Buddhism. :rofl:

My personal, totally unfounded and uninformed advice to you is: Cut it all off. :namaste:
Jhana4
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by Jhana4 »

Hi Caroline, I enjoyed reading your post as it pulled the rug out from under some assumptions I was standing on while reading it.

I just assumed you were a guy. I was getting ready to tell you how I had super duper long hair and similar experiences, then how cutting it was no big deal. Then you signed your name :).

Outside of a Buddhist context I think some women look fantastic with short hair. Some women, but not all. It is a bit like a man getting a crew cut. It works for those with the shape of head and facial structure for it. In my opinion, women, even with grey hair look better with it long. Most women look neutered with short hair.

In a Buddhist context the only way I can see hair length mattering is convenience and then only for monks or very dedicated meditators. A shaved head cuts down on grooming time and the number of possessions you need to own.

I don't think hair length makes much of a difference for a lay person. I had hair down to my shoulder blades for over 5 years at least. I've had a typical short man's hair cut since then. I don't get that much more practical utility out of short hair. Pulling my hair back into a pony tail or a bun worked out just find. I do spend less time on grooming it. I haven't turned my hair dryer on in years. However, I find it to be nuisance to have to go to the barber at least once a month. With short hair, it grows out enough to look messy fast. Haircuts, at least good once aren't cheap anymore, so that is the other down side with short hair.
In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:
One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.
The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.
Justsit
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by Justsit »

Long hair on a woman sends one of those very subtle subliminal messages, that the woman is fertile and would make a good mate. Polls have repeatedly shown 9 out of 10 men prefer women with long hair, so the message apparently works. It also makes a very good place to hide.

If you are intent on pleasing a man, leave it long. If you want to please yourself, do what you'd like; you can always grow it back if you feel insecure without it. At some point, most women decide it's more trouble than it's worth and cut it. My hair was waist length for many years; cutting it off was very freeing, as I literally didn't have to carry the past around with me any more. Also, strays quit sniffing around... ;)
seanpdx
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by seanpdx »

Chicks with shaved heads are hot. 'nuff said.

(or, for a more serious answer, see perkele's reply. there are no rules for non-ordained buddhists.)
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andre9999
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by andre9999 »

seanpdx wrote:Chicks with shaved heads are hot. 'nuff said.

(or, for a more serious answer, see perkele's reply. there are no rules for non-ordained buddhists.)
Your'e just saying that because you like punk rock girls. (I learned this from the other thread.)

:)
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Monkey Mind
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by Monkey Mind »

If other Buddhists refuse to wear the t-shirt I sent them, the least they could do is shave their heads. how else can we recognize each other when we are at the grocery store or coffee shop?
"As I am, so are others;
as others are, so am I."
Having thus identified self and others,
harm no one nor have them harmed.

Sutta Nipāta 3.710
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cooran
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by cooran »

Maybe I worked in hospitals too long ¬ but when I see a shaved head on someone not in the robes of a bhikkhu/bhikkhuni, I assume they're Chemotherapy patients.
---The trouble is that you think you have time---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
daverupa
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by daverupa »

I had a girlfriend once who hated my shaved head for just such a reason, but I never understood why the presence of my eyebrows didn't alter that view.
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
Jhana4
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by Jhana4 »

cooran wrote:Maybe I worked in hospitals too long ¬ but when I see a shaved head on someone not in the robes of a bhikkhu/bhikkhuni, I assume they're Chemotherapy patients.
That isn't too bad. My reflex is to think they are skinheads. If they are smiling, my reflex is to think they are nuts ( i.e. the guy who shot Congresswoman Giffords ).
In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:
One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.
The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.
seanpdx
Posts: 281
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:56 am

Re: Bad hair days

Post by seanpdx »

andre9999 wrote:
seanpdx wrote:Chicks with shaved heads are hot. 'nuff said.

(or, for a more serious answer, see perkele's reply. there are no rules for non-ordained buddhists.)
Your'e just saying that because you like punk rock girls. (I learned this from the other thread.)

:)
And I see nothing wrong with that. Hehe! =D
seanpdx
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by seanpdx »

Monkey Mind wrote:If other Buddhists refuse to wear the t-shirt I sent them, the least they could do is shave their heads. how else can we recognize each other when we are at the grocery store or coffee shop?
I never got my t-shirt. =(
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Monkey Mind
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by Monkey Mind »

seanpdx wrote:I never got my t-shirt. =(
Are you registered? Are you a card-carrying Buddhist? :jumping:
"As I am, so are others;
as others are, so am I."
Having thus identified self and others,
harm no one nor have them harmed.

Sutta Nipāta 3.710
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andre9999
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by andre9999 »

seanpdx wrote:I never got my t-shirt. =(
Don't cling to the Buddhist t-shirt... it'll only cause suffering.
daverupa
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Re: Bad hair days

Post by daverupa »

andre9999 wrote:
seanpdx wrote:I never got my t-shirt. =(
Don't cling to the Buddhist t-shirt... it'll only cause suffering.
Don't cling, use the eightfold dryer sheet?
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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