Editing Tonsure (section)

==Buddhism==
In [[Buddhism]], tonsure (Sanskrit: ''mundanā'') is a part of the rite of ''[[pravrajya]]'' and also a part of becoming a [[bhikshu]] (monk) or [[bhikshuni]] (nun). This involves shaving the head and face. This tonsure is renewed as often as required to keep the head cleanly shaven.

The [[Theravada]] [[Vinaya]] stipulates that a monk must shave every two months or when the hair grows two finger-breadths in length. When the Buddha-to-be first cut his hair, the remaining hair curled clockwise to this length, never to grow long again. It is common for the monastic community to shave during the full moon and new moon [[Uposatha]] days.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why do you have to shave your head to become a Buddhist monk? |url=https://www.truelittlemonk.com/inter/content/1058 |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=www.truelittlemonk.com |language=en}}</ref>

[[Mahayana]] tradition varies slightly in its forms of tonsure depending on region. According to the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya commentary (四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔, T. 1804) by [[Daoxuan]], newly-ordained monks should leave one, three, or five small knots of hair (''cūḍā'') that are ceremonially shaved by their teacher when receiving precepts.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.buddhism-dict.net/cgi-bin/xpr-ddb.pl?54.xml+id(%27b5468-7f85%27) | title=Unauthorized | url-access=subscription | website=www.buddhism-dict.net}}</ref> [[Chinese Buddhism]] includes a practice called [[jieba]] (戒疤), wherein the monk or nun receives small burns to the scalp to symbolize their adherence to the [[bodhisattva path]].

The ''Verse of Tonsure'' (''Teihatsu no ge'' 剃髮偈) is recited by [[Soto Zen]] practitioners:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Glossary - individual {{!}} SOTOZEN.COM |url=https://www.sotozen.com/eng/library/glossary/individual.html?key=verse_of_tonsure |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=www.sotozen.com}}</ref>

:In shaving off beard and hair, (teijo shuhatsu 剃除鬚髮; Sanskrit: ''śiras-tuṇḍa-muṇḍana'')
:we pray that all living beings (tōgan shujō 當願衆生)
:should forever be free from mental afflictions (yōri bonnō 永離煩惱)
:and in the end attain nirvana. (kugyō jakumetsu 究竟寂滅; Sanskrit: ''atyanta-śānta-praśānta'')

[[Tibetan Buddhist]] tradition assigns auspicious days depending on when both laypeople and monastics cut their hair.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/teachers/zopa/advice/pdf/cutting_hair_advice_lzr08.pdf | title=Pacifying the Date of Cutting Hair | publisher=FPMT Education Services | date=September 2008}}</ref> The [[Mūlasarvāstivāda]] Vinaya also regulates the wearing of a special cloth when shaving the head called ''keśapratigrahaṇa'' (剃髮衣). This is also the name of the shrine built for the Buddha's hair before it was enshrined in a stupa in [[Trāyastriṃśa]] heaven.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Chapter on Medicines / 84000 Reading Room |url=https://read.84000.co/translation/toh1-6.html |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=84000 Translating The Words of The Buddha |language=en}}</ref>