Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Discussion of ordination, the Vinaya and monastic life. How and where to ordain? Bhikkhuni ordination etc.
asahi
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Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by asahi »

It was said Buddha get his haircut from Upali the barber . Does this means Buddha wasnt bald-headed ? :shrug:
And can monks go to a salon to get their hairs cut ?
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Coëmgenu
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by Coëmgenu »

Monks can't have long 1960s-style wavy locks. All the same, your hair doesn't stop growing just because you've ordained. Monks get "haircuts," unless I'm to be surprised by a correction of that. Maybe not at a beauty parlor.
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Red Belly
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by Red Belly »

When I stayed at Wat Nanachat, the monks shaved their heads every two weeks. Not sure if that's still true.
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Sam Vara
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by Sam Vara »

Wasn't the Buddha ridiculed by some other ascetics for being bald? I guess Upali would have turned up and shaved the Buddha's head, just as others would have massaged him, etc.
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by Nicolas »

Vinaya: Khandhaka: Cullavagga: Khuddaka wrote: Monks, long hair should not be worn. Whoever should wear it (long), there is an offence of wrong-doing. I allow it to be of a two months’ growth or two finger-breadths (in length).
Vasala Sutta (Snp 1.7) wrote: The brahmin saw the Radiant One coming from a distance and called out this to him: “Stop there, mere shaveling, stop there, vile ascetic, stop there, foul outcaste!” When this was said, the Radiant One said to the brahmin: “Do you know, brahmin, what an outcaste is or what things make a person ‘outcaste’?”
Sundarikabhāradvāja Sutta (Snp 3.4) wrote: It happened then that the brahmin saw the Radiant One seated at the foot of a tree not far away, but with his head covered. Seeing him, the brahmin grasped the sacrificial remains in his left hand and a water-vessel in his right and approached the Radiant One who, hearing his approach, uncovered his head. Then the brahmin thought:

This venerable one is shaven-headed, a mere shaveling” and desired to turn back. But it occurred to him: “Though shaven-headed there are some brahmins here like this. It would be good to inquire about his ‘birth’.”
(Indirectly connected: DN 2 implies the Buddha was relatively undistinguishable from other monks, and MN 81 has the Buddha Kassapa described as a "bald-pated recluse".)
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JamesTheGiant
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by JamesTheGiant »

asahi wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:14 pm It was said Buddha get his haircut from Upali the barber . Does this means Buddha wasnt bald-headed ?
It means Upali shaved his head. Every two weeks is the modern time.
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by DNS »

Good responses above.

And the irony is that almost every Buddha statue shows him with very curly hair, often a lot of it. He was bald.
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Coëmgenu
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by Coëmgenu »

Blame the Gāndhārī fashionistas.
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It is the Undying, the Bright, the Isle.
It is an Ocean, a Secret: Reality.
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by TRobinson465 »

He was not bald-headed. he was shaven-headed.
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by Ceisiwr »

DNS wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 11:38 pm Good responses above.

And the irony is that almost every Buddha statue shows him with very curly hair, often a lot of it. He was bald.
Or as a chubby but very happy Chinese monk :?

To be honest I don't even like most Buddha statues. I prefer more realist portrayals over idealised ones. I mean, he is almost never depicted as an old man.
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by santa100 »

DNS wrote:And the irony is that almost every Buddha statue shows him with very curly hair, often a lot of it. He was bald.
That weird thingy on top of his head was supposedly a feature among His 32 Features of a Great Man ( only available to a Sammasambuddha or a Wheel-turning monarch ).
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Ontheway
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by Ontheway »

Maybe I think Buddha did shave his head from time to time, but the hairs grow back and become curly ...
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Ceiswr, maybe this is what you looking for?
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by Dhammanando »

asahi wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:14 pm It was said Buddha get his haircut from Upali the barber .
If you mean before Upāli became a bhikkhu, I believe it's only late non-Theravadin sources like the Mahavastu that report this.

If you mean after Upāli became a bhikkhu, then it wouldn't have been possible. In the Vinaya bhikkhus who were formerly barbers aren't permitted to own or use a barber's utensils. Even to shave their own heads they have to get another monk to do it.
asahi wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:14 pmDoes this means Buddha wasnt bald-headed ?
I think you may be confusing "bald-headed" (i.e. naturally lacking hair) and "shaven-headed". It's never claimed that the Buddha was bald-headed.
asahi wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:14 pmAnd can monks go to a salon to get their hairs cut ?
It's not customary to do so and I've never heard of it happening. However, if a barber were to offer a bhikkhu a free shave or if a layperson were to offer to pay for one, then there's no prohibition against accepting the offer.
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by Pondera »

Dhammanando wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 8:10 am
asahi wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:14 pm It was said Buddha get his haircut from Upali the barber .
If you mean before Upāli became a bhikkhu, I believe it's only late non-Theravadin sources like the Mahavastu that report this.

If you mean after Upāli became a bhikkhu, then it wouldn't have been possible. In the Vinaya bhikkhus who were formerly barbers aren't permitted to own or use a barber's utensils. Even to shave their own heads they have to get another monk to do it.
asahi wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:14 pmDoes this means Buddha wasnt bald-headed ?
I think you may be confusing "bald-headed" (i.e. naturally lacking hair) and "shaven-headed". It's never claimed that the Buddha was bald-headed.
asahi wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:14 pmAnd can monks go to a salon to get their hairs cut ?
It's not customary to do so and I've never heard of it happening. However, if a barber were to offer a bhikkhu a free shave or if a layperson were to offer to pay for one, then there's no prohibition against accepting the offer.
So former barbers aren’t allowed to shave their own heads. What about the other Bhikkhus?

What is the preferred method? Straight edge? Razor? Clippers?

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asahi
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Re: Buddha wasnt bald-headed !

Post by asahi »

Dhammanando wrote: Sat Jan 22, 2022 8:10 am Even to shave their own heads they have to get another monk to do it.
:thinking:
i remember when i went for short term stay in a monastery , i noticed the monks shaved their own head . :shrug:
I think you may be confusing "bald-headed" (i.e. naturally lacking hair) and "shaven-headed".
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