People who become monks must shave their heads. In Buddhist terminology, it is called "shaving" . Shaving is a very important ordination ceremony. When being ordained, the ordinator should kneel on his knees and put his hands together, while the ordinator stands opposite and holds a knife to complete the process. Some tonsurers who pay attention to the sense of ritual will complete the tonsure ceremony facing the Buddha in the Mahavira Hall.
Ordinators are all highly respected monks, either the abbot or abbot of the temple, or other eminent monks. Ordinary monks do not have this qualification.
The reason why monks need to be tonsured has five main meanings.
First, Buddhism praises hair as the "Three Thousand Troubled Threads" and believes that hair represents countless troubles in the world. Shaving your hair is equivalent to eliminating troubles and cutting off the desires in your heart.
Secondly, the body, hair and skin are affected by parents. Shaving your hair is equivalent to cutting off the thoughts of parents and relatives.
Thirdly, the "bald head" is easy to clean, which helps monks to calm down and concentrate on practicing Taoism.
Fourth, use shaving your hair to warn yourself to get rid of some bad habits developed in the world.
Fifth, Sakyamuni After his enlightenment, he recruited many disciples. In order to distinguish himself from other believers, Buddhists used shaving as a symbol.
There is a famous saying in Buddhism: There is no one, no self, no sentient beings. When the black hair is gone, I have no self.
Buddhism believes that the human world is suffering and the world is illusory. Only by cutting off all worries and going through untold hardships can one practice and become a Buddha. Hair is known as the "Three Thousand Trouble Threads". Only by eliminating worries as a monk can one truly achieve Buddhahood. A profound state.
Therefore, we can find that famous eminent monks in history, such as, Zhidun, Faxian, Kumarajiva, Bodhidharma , Xuanzang, Jianzhen, Huineng, Yixing , Huaisu , Dahui Zonggao , Shouren, Zhixu, Xuyun, Li Shutong , etc., all without exception are bald.
However, what is puzzling is that some of the Buddhas in the West are not bald, such as the Randen Ancient Buddha and Tathagata Buddha . They seem to have curly hair on their heads. Is it because of their status in Buddhism? Very tall, enjoying certain privileges and not having to shave?
is not actually the case.
Tathagata Buddha is also called Sakyamuni Buddha. China honors him as "Buddhist Patriarch" . His common name is Gautama Siddhartha. He was born in southern Nepal today. He was originally from ancient India. The prince of the northern Kapilavastu (now in Nepal), when he was 19 years old, he formed a bond with Buddhism. At the age of 35, he achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and finally founded Buddhism.
Tathagata means "nowhere from, and nowhere to go", Therefore, he is called Tathagata.
Tathagata is one of the largest Buddhas in the West. He has appeared in TV series such as " Journey to the West ", " Journey to the West Sequel ", " Wu Cheng'en and Journey to the West ".
As a monk, Tathagata Buddha should have been bald like Fa Xian, Tang Xuanzang, Xu Yun and other eminent monks to be consistent with his status. However, he has a "bun"-like hairstyle on his head. Doesn't this violate the precepts of Buddhism? ?
In fact, Tathagata's "hair" is not simple. The curly "bundle" on his head that looks like hair is not a hairstyle, but something called "meat bun" , which is a sacred and peculiar appearance. Only a few eminent monks can grow this thing, which is something that awes the gods and Buddhas.
There are "ten disciples" under the Tathagata, headed by Da Ka Ye and Ananda. Most of these disciples' hair is also curly, like a brand. Their heads are not hair, but "meat buns".
All monks, including Tathagata, strictly abide by the teachings and precepts of Buddhism. They regard the removal of the "three thousand troubles" as the most important precept, and the basis is not to leave any black hair.
"Meat bun" is also called the meat bun appearance, and its Sanskrit name is Wusenaisha. It is a special appearance formed by the bulging of the bones and muscles on the head. It is regarded as a symbol of dignity in Buddhism. , which is known as one of the thirty-two features, "Top Bun Phase" . Ordinary monks cannot grow this thing.
"The Mahaprajna Sutra" says: On the top of the World Honored One's head is the sandy sand of Use, which is high and circular, just like the canopy of the sky, which is thirty-two. The third sound and meaning of Xuanying is: meat bun, Sanskrit word is "Use Nisha", this cloud bun. That is to say, the Supreme Sutra says: Yusenisha, the parietal bone rises up, and it naturally forms a bun.
The scriptures say that Sakyamuni had hair before he became a monk, but he shaved his head after he became a monk. Later, the reason why he grew buns was because he persisted in ascetic practice and eventually became a profound Buddha.
The bun is a symbol of the distinguished status of a monk. Generally, monks cannot grow buns due to their short cultivation time. Like the common Bodhisattvas, such as Guanyin Bodhisattva , Manjushri , Samantabhadra , etc., they There is no bun, or the features of the bun are not obvious.
Before Sakyamuni became a monk, monks did not have the tradition of shaving their heads. At that time, only criminals and slaves were shaved bald. It would be considered a shame for monks to shave their heads.
After Sakyamuni became a monk, he changed this tradition. He set an example and became the first monk to shave his head. The reason why he did this was firstly to strengthen the confidence of the monks, and secondly to give the monks a unique symbol by shaving their hair.
After becoming a Buddha, Sakyamuni naturally grew hair-like buns. Other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas also grew buns through hard practice.
However, the Maitreya Buddha we are very familiar with has a bald head. Why doesn't he have a bun?
Because different practitioners have different natures, this creates differences. Tathagata Buddha has Great Sun Tathagata Dharma, and his true body is in the shape of a heavenly being. "Journey to the West" says that Tathagata cultivated himself into a six-foot-long golden body, and his whole body was shrouded in golden light, making him look very solemn.
Buddhism believes that there are three Buddhas, namely the ancient Buddha Randeng in the past, the Tathagata Buddha in the present, and the Maitreya Buddha in the future. Randeng and Tathagata have buns on their heads, but Maitreya does not. The fundamental reason is that Maitreya Buddha is the future Buddha. He does not exist in the past or present. He is the Buddha predicted by people. He has not actually become the Buddha.
If we put it more bluntly, Maitreya Buddha does not have a real body, so of course there will be no meat bun.
" Infinite Life Sutra " records that every Buddha and Bodhisattva has a flesh bun appearance, but everyone is different, because the flesh bun represents the level of practice, and the Tathagata's flesh bun looks the most solemn and obvious. , because his cultivation level is the highest.
The bun on Tathagata's head has grown into a spiral pattern similar to a "natural roll". It is said that in ancient India, the long spiral pattern on the head was a symbol of good luck.
Tathagata Buddha has the solemn "Thirty-Two Appearances", and the "Meat Bun Appearance" is one of them. This is not something you are born with, but is obtained through persistent hard work.
The "Mahayana Hundred Blessings Ornaments Sutra" says: Every time the Buddha cultivates one hundred blessings, he will be solemnized.
means that every time the Buddha practiced a hundred blessings, he could obtain the solemn appearance.
What does Yifu mean?
One Blessing is a very big concept. For example, there are many blind people in the world. Practitioners cure the eyes of all the blind people so that they can see the light again. Only in this way can the practitioners achieve One Blessing. There are many people in the world suffering from polio and unable to use their legs and feet. If practitioners heal their legs and feet, they will be considered a blessing.
It can be seen that it is not easy to cultivate one blessing, not to mention that only after cultivating a hundred blessings can you obtain the solemn appearance. Tathagata became a Buddha because he practiced 3200 blessings and experienced countless sufferings before he succeeded.
Buddha is an illuminant and wise man in Buddhist classics. Their "hair" is the highest proof of their Buddhist practice and a symbol of status. Ordinary monks will be in awe when they see practitioners with buns.For ordinary practitioners, the meat bun is a sacred object that leads them to devote themselves to the Buddha.
