So, as you all probably know, in Japanese culture, cutting off one’s hair was a sign of disgrace and banishment. In the context of Avatar, it also symbolizes Iroh and Zuko’s tenure as fugitives and their cutting ties with the Fire Nation.
But, according to the Avatar wiki, there’s also another meaning behind this scene which I think is pretty awesome.
According to Buddhist tradition, Siddhartha Buddha renounced the world on the banks of the Anoma River. He did this by cutting off his hair, abandoning his royal regalia, and adopting the dress of the common people. It’s at this point that the Buddha began his journey of self-discovery and enlightenment.
Hey guys, guess what other prince is starting a journey of self-discovery by cutting his hair near a river and adopting the dress of the common people?
“When someone seeks,“ Siddhartha said, “it is all too easy for his eyes to see nothing but the thing he seeks, so that he is unable to find anything or absorb anything because he is always thinking exclusively about what he seeks, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed by that goal. Seeking means having a goal. But finding means being free, remaining accessible, having no goal. You, venerable one, are perhaps really one who seeks, because, pressing after your goal, you fail to see many a thing that is right before your eyes.”
So you remember the firebender prison? And how Zuko kept his bending at full strength when he was put in the freezer box, which disabled anybody else put in there? That’s because Iroh taught him that airbender trick, just like later he taught him waterbending moves to deal with lightning. Iroh was secretly master of all four elements and passed it on to Zuko without him noticing.
Mashups and Exports 