monastic
Explanation
The Joke
The comic presents a "Fun Fact" claiming that the difference between Eastern and Western religion can be understood entirely by looking at monastic hairstyles. On the left, a Buddhist monk with a fully shaved head represents Eastern religion, with the caption: "Your self and this world are illusory. Don't grow attached." On the right, a Western (Christian) monk with a tonsure -- the distinctive haircut where only the top of the head is shaved, leaving a ring of hair -- represents Western religion, with the caption: "You and this world are temporary but real, and you should be ashamed of yourself while you're here."
The comic draws a parallel between how much hair each tradition removes and the extent of their metaphysical claims. The Eastern monk shaves everything, reflecting a philosophy that goes "all the way" in denying the reality of the self and the material world. The Western monk only partially shaves, reflecting a more moderate position that acknowledges reality but adds guilt.
The Humor
The humor lies in the surprisingly apt (if wildly oversimplified) analogy between hairstyles and theology. The complete shaving of a Buddhist monk's head maps onto the total denial of self and worldly attachment in Buddhist philosophy, while the tonsure's halfway approach mirrors Christianity's position that the world is real but fallen, and that humans should feel shame for their sinful nature. The punchline is really in the Western caption, which reduces centuries of Christian theology to "you should be ashamed of yourself while you're here" -- a darkly funny summary of how some people experience Western religious teaching, particularly the emphasis on original sin and guilt.
The comic also works as a gentle satire of the tendency to reduce complex religious traditions to simple generalizations. The claim that hairstyles explain "entirely" the difference between Eastern and Western religion is absurd on its face, but the comparison is just plausible enough to be funny.
References
The comic references Buddhist monasticism, where monks and nuns traditionally shave their heads completely as a sign of renunciation of worldly vanity and attachment. It also references the Christian tonsure, the practice of shaving a portion of the head, historically required of monks and clergy in the Roman Catholic Church. The tonsure symbolized dedication to God and was practiced from the early centuries of Christianity until it was officially abolished by Pope Paul VI in 1972, though some monastic orders still observe it. The theological contrast draws on Buddhist concepts of anatta (no-self) and maya (illusion) versus Christian doctrines of original sin and the reality of the created world.