Are Buddhist monks allowed to have facial hair? beards?

Question

are buddhist monks allowed to have any facial hir at all? i know they can't have any hair on their heads, but maybe like a beard or something?

Answer 1

Yes.

I've know some fuzzy monks. The bald head thing is traditional. Another word for traditional is old fashioned.

Originally, shaving your head was to unattach yourself from your civilian role. Now a days, modern monks can easily be attached to their roles as being old fashioned monks with their heads shaved. At this point, it's better not to concern monks with their hair at all, this way there is nothing to be attached or unattached to.

PS-I'm talking about Zen monks, real Zen monks.

Answer 2

The lama I used to hear for lam rim teachings had a goatee-sort of thing. He was a little crazy, though, I must say...and he was even one born, raised, and went through his training in Nepal. (One of his favorite stories was about how he and another potential monk broke out of the monastery one night when they were about 15-16 and went off to see movies...)

Answer 3

Nope, they can't have any hair on their bodies....no kind of hair, if you know what i mean.