Why do monks have a bald spot?

Answer 1

I believe the practice originated out of an attempt at obedience to scripture.

1 Corinthians 11:7

7) For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God:...

and 1 Corinthians 11:15

15) But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

If a woman's hair is a covering and a man should not be covered, it is logical to conclude that a man should not have hair. If you combine this logic to the scriptures and add in serious case of male pattern baldness, you can easily see how the practice could have begun.

Answer 2

== == Monks shave their head to detach from physical/material things. It is supposed to remove the idea of vanity from their lives (which is why they wear plain clothing/eat plain food) and keep the monks on a path of higher spirituality

On the Lighter Side: to save washing it

Answer:

Buddhists no more shave their heads as a general thing than Christians dress as monks and nuns and walk around burning incense. Some Buddhist monks belong to orders that traditionally shave their heads, but then so do some Christian monks. Hollywood has seized on this (head shaving) as a traditional thing for Buddhists to do (like bad cowboys wearing the black hats). In the real world most Buddhists (and bad cowboys) are hard to tell from anyone else. They dress like everyone else in their local culture, groom themselves in the same way, and walk talk ad behave like everyone else

Answer 3

Buddhists shave their heads because they believe that if you have hair it is a possession that you have to compare to other people so to ovoid arguments about the best hair they just shave it all off!!

Answer 4

In the Buddhist Sudra's, texts, there is a description of the body in which it is said that the hairs of the head and face have 16 obstacles for keeping clean and looking good, so they should be removed. Hair is often used a metaphor for human being's illusion or ignorance, so it is called the 'weeds of ignorance.' Thus, cutting the hairs implies symbolically getting rid of ignorance. The body and the mind should be kept clean in order to reach the final aim of true understanding. Thus cutting and shaving the hair represent a sort of determination to keep the body and the mind clean and then to attain enlightenment and save all beings.

Korean Buddhist monks and nuns have their heads shaved every 15 days.

They shave each others head and do not do it by themselves, which signifies the wish to help and support each other. Shaving the head is not only a conventional tradition but a practice for getting rid of useless worldly desires and illusions in order to concentrate on pursuing the goal. It makes practitioners examine themselves and awaken their own consciousness.

Answer 5

Monks shave their heads themselves. It represents a halo, which is like holiness and purity.

Answer 6

to represent a halo, which is a sign of holyness

Answer 7

It represent a sort of determination to keep the body and mind clean so as to attain enlightenment.

Answer 8

It was a religious practice to shave their heads, to help make themselves pure and identify that they were monks.