Why do monks shave their heads?

This was once a way of expressing determination, I guess. Those who had this mark chose a lifestyle different from that of ordinary people. In ancient times, it was said that aside from the body and skin, everything else is given by one’s parents

With the six senses purified, keeping hair is a source of affliction!

The ancients said: Hair as long as three thousand feet – sorrow is what makes it so long. From this, it can be concluded that hair is the root of all troubles. Why worry! There is also a nursery rhyme that goes: One monk carries water to drink, two monks carry water to drink. From this, it can be concluded that in ancient times there were no water pipes, and water for drinking and use had to be carried by hand, which was very laborious. Since it’s so troublesome, let’s use less of it, okay? The answer is no. As early as the Pre-Qin period, people would wash their hair every three days and take baths every five days. By the Han Dynasty, there was also the practice of “xiumu,” which meant that after working for five days, officials could take one day off to bathe and wash their hair. With such frequent washing, the water consumption is naturally high. So the question arises again: monks living in remote mountains and rivers use so much water, transportation is inconvenient and water management is underdeveloped; they spend their entire day carrying water, so where do they find time to recite scriptures and worship Buddha? Thus, monks with high professional ethics invented the great practice of shaving their heads to resolve the growing conflict between fetching water and going to work.

To become a monk, one must abandon all distracting thoughts; ordination is a ritual in Buddhism.

I went bald, which gave me a clear mind, so I kept my head bald.

As I understand it, wearing hair is also a form of cultivation; taking monastic vows is an even more decisive step

Practicing with hair attached is not decisive enough; one still keeps a backdoor, ready to return to secular life at any time!

Cut away three thousand strands of worry, break free from the mundane world, and achieve purity