Head Shaving Ceremony is common among Buddhists in South East Asia. It occurs when someone is entering a monkshood, and have to shave his head before the ordination ceremony.

For the historical background, Head- Shaving in buddhism is for purification purposes.

Cutting the hair is symbolic. Long hair was a sign of higher caste in India, and Siddharta, before he became the Buddha, cut off his hair as a renouncement of all his worldly goods.

According to Jātaka tales, the Buddha cut his hair with the sword to the length of two fingers-breath when he first ran away and decide to leave the royal life behind to pursuit the enlightenment. His hair stays at that same length for the rest of his life which symbolises the total extinguishing (nirvāna) of his sexual fires and defilements.

As an alignment as the Buddha, historians claims that wandering mendicants seeking enlightenment were a common sight in first millennium BCE India, also shaving the head, with the believe that doing so would reduce vanity and be a test of a monastic's commitment. As well, it is practical in hot weather.

The Buddhist’s rules of ordination as regulated by the Buddha for his followers are recorded in a text called the Vinaya-pitaka. In a section called the Khandhaka, the rules say that hair should be shaved at least every two months, or when the hair has grown to the length of two finger-widths. The Khandhaka also stated that followers who has become monastics must use a razor to remove hair, not the scissors unless he or she has a sore on the head and may not pluck out or dye gray hair.

These rules are beneficial for the monkshood by discouraging vanity, and keep the monastic life carefree and convenient. Preparing the buddhist monks to practice mindfulness easily, and pave the way to the achievement of finding nirvana.