Why do monks shave their heads? What do those nine dots mean?

Many people may wonder, why do Buddhist monks shave their heads? Even if they shave their heads, some monks have to carve a few dots on their heads. What do these points mean Today we will talk about those things about monks.

When the weather is hot, some people like to shave their heads to keep cool. Shaving your head in ancient times was not so casual, and you even had to be charged with disrespect. The ancients regarded hair as very important and thought it was obtained from parents. The so-called "parents who are suffering from skin and hair" should not be damaged at will and must be protected, otherwise it is disrespect for their parents. So did the ancient monks shave their heads because they were afraid of heat and didn't respect their parents?

Buddhism in China originated in India. When Indian Buddhism just emerged, it required believers to shave their heads. Some people think that the practice of monks shaving their heads is related to India's geographical location near the equator and unusually hot weather. In fact, this statement is unreasonable. Indian monks shave their heads not because they are afraid of heat, but because they are related to Buddhist teachings.

Buddhism believes that hair represents the troubles and desires, vanity and feelings in the hearts of the world. That's what we often say about "three thousand troubles". Shaving your hair means getting rid of troubles and all selfish distractions, which means getting rid of all worldly things. Therefore, when Buddha Sakyamuni talked with Ye Jia and other five people for the first time, he personally shaved their hair and removed the root of their troubles, indicating that he accepted them as disciples.

Buddhism shaved its head for another reason: there were many sects in India at that time. In order to distinguish it from other sects, Buddhists use shaving as a symbol. People know they are Buddhists as soon as they see their bald heads.

Later, shaving became a Buddhist ceremony. Anyone who becomes a monk must shave his head to get rid of three thousand troubles and make him carefree.

To sum up:

First, hair loss to get rid of secular troubles

Hair has the name of "worry hair", which means that the hair on the head of all beings represents their troubles and desires, vanity and feelings, so it is often said that "worry hair is three thousand broken" Buddhists believe that hair is the connection between people and all kinds of troubles in the world. Shaving hair can cut off the connection between people and secular troubles, remove these troubles and become a Buddhist.

Second, cutting off your hair is to cut off your family's concern.

The ancients believed that "parents with physical problems dare not do any harm". Everything on the body, including hair, is given by parents, so we must take good care of it without any damage, otherwise it will be disrespectful and unfilial to our parents, so we attach great importance to hair. Shaving your hair means that you are determined to break the care of your parents and relatives and concentrate on practicing.

Third, hair loss is a sign of getting rid of bad habits in the world.

There are all kinds of bad habits and mentality in this world, such as laziness, ruthlessness, indifference, pride, neglect and so on. In order to show our determination to get rid of these bad habits, we use this action to warn ourselves and let others supervise ourselves.

Fourth, to distinguish it from other sects.

According to legend, Buddha Sakyamuni realized that he had become a Buddha and began to preach and recruit disciples in the Ganges River basin. Because when the Buddha first told Ye Jia and five other people, he shaved their hair himself and said that he accepted them as his disciples. There were many sects in India at that time. In order to distinguish other sects in India, Buddhists have shaved their hair one after another, so that shaving has become a Buddhist ceremony.

What do you mean by six points and nine points on the monk's head?

The monk's scar is only a symbol of status. It's a representation of rank.

After several months of freshman training, young monks who have just shaved their beards will take a simple quiz. After passing the quiz, the old monks in the temple will help them ignite the first scar of their Buddhist career with thread incense, which is called "clearing the heart". Then in the next year or two, if you do well, for example, stop drooling when watching the lock code channel, or stop looking around when writing the Diamond Sutra silently, you will be entitled to the second scar: "love".

Generally speaking, if it goes well, most of the old monks in the temple can have five or six scars; The abbot of Shaolin Temple, * * Temple, Longfatang and other important temples may be a [senior monk] or a [super monk] with eight or nine Buddha scars. However, this tenth scar is not something that ordinary monks can have. Except for the Dharma patriarch and the Six Ancestors Zen Master, there are no more than five [god-level monks] in the Ten Scars. Not only the head, but also the body, for example, the arm.

Supplement: Except the Han nationality, monks of other nationalities have no custom of burning scars. This may be related to the theory of "burning the body to support" in the Bodhisattva Sanskrit. The custom of burning the top with moxa in the Tang Dynasty formed a universal system. It is said that it was the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, foreign rulers wanted to distinguish between true and false, and prevent those who resisted the decree from fleeing to monks.