Reasonable things to tattoo

General discussion, particularly exploring the Dharma in the modern world.
Tiago Simões
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Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Tiago Simões »

What dharma related things are acceptable to tattoo? Obviously Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are out.
I mean Mantras, auspicious symbols, Devas, Nagas, Garudas... Things like that.
Motova
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Motova »

Why?
To become a rain man one must master the ten virtues and sciences.
Fortyeightvows
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Fortyeightvows »

Don't do it
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Mantrik
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Mantrik »

Tiago Simões wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 6:56 pm What dharma related things are acceptable to tattoo? Obviously Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are out.
I mean Mantras, auspicious symbols, Devas, Nagas, Garudas... Things like that.
Depends who sees them, depends on the vows you have taken and how interpreted, depends on advice from your Guru.

'Liberation through seeing' may apply to some images. Disclosing secret things to those unsuited to receive them may be another.

You'll get a spectrum of views here, but the only one which matters is that of your Guru.

My view? Have whatever you want as long as nobody else ever sees it.

Go to Thailand and get inked with a sharp stick and the rules are different of course.
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Tiago Simões
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Tiago Simões »

Motova wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 8:01 pmWhy?
Just curious, I never really read a satisfying answer to this question. Mantrik's answer seems to sum it up.
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Grigoris
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Grigoris »

I just had a tattoo of the Sanskrit alphabet and "ye dharma..." done. They are the sound and essence of all the Buddhas teachings and not "secret" so...
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
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amanitamusc
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by amanitamusc »

Grigoris wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 10:03 pm I just had a tattoo of the Sanskrit alphabet and "ye dharma..." done. They are the sound and essence of all the Buddhas teachings and not "secret" so...
Can we see?
Tiago Simões
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Tiago Simões »

Grigoris wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 10:03 pm I just had a tattoo of the Sanskrit alphabet and "ye dharma..." done. They are the sound and essence of all the Buddhas teachings and not "secret" so...
Cool, I also thought about doing the ye dharma mantra, but in the lantsa script.
Fortyeightvows
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Re: Regretable things to tattoo

Post by Fortyeightvows »

The above comment is a reminder that script and language are not the same.
Tiago Simões
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Tiago Simões »

I wonder how much, dislike of dharma related tattoos, is doctrinal and how much is cultural...
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Grigoris
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Grigoris »

Tiago Simões wrote: Tue May 15, 2018 10:41 am I wonder how much, dislike of dharma related tattoos, is doctrinal and how much is cultural...
Thai, Cambodian and Laotian people have a Dharma tattoo tradition.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
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Ogyen
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Ogyen »

Ogyen Tattoos.jpg
Ogyen Tattoos.jpg (100.79 KiB) Viewed 4767 times
Nothing secret here, but it is my core practice (in case I have an accident and get amnesia). 7 line prayer, 100 syllable vajrasattva mantra, song of vajra and some symbolized items in my red seals - one is a stylized yabyum to NOT depict actual union, which is inappropriate, but to represent it, and the other is a double dorje, both enclosed in the 6 primordial syllables. I did NOT get a big Tibetan A, but I didn't think it necessary, as it's subsumed into every part of the script.

44 hours of work in which I really took it upon myself to understand the ephemeral illusory nature of sensation and its memory, as well, as impermanence. Very interesting experience of mind and matter, I learned a lot. There are various lines of thought from tattoos being totally not ok in dharma, to being totally part of cultural traditions. For me, it was a project that yielded very clear experiential insights.

Also the placement is easy to conceal in the corporate world I work in. :twothumbsup:
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The Heart Drive - nosce te ipsum

"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget." –Arundhati Roy
amanitamusc
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by amanitamusc »

Ogyen wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 12:03 am Ogyen Tattoos.jpg

Nothing secret here, but it is my core practice (in case I have an accident and get amnesia). 7 line prayer, 100 syllable vajrasattva mantra, song of vajra and some symbolized items in my red seals - one is a stylized yabyum to NOT depict actual union, which is inappropriate, but to represent it, and the other is a double dorje, both enclosed in the 6 primordial syllables. I did NOT get a big Tibetan A, but I didn't think it necessary, as it's subsumed into every part of the script.

44 hours of work in which I really took it upon myself to understand the ephemeral illusory nature of sensation and its memory, as well, as impermanence. Very interesting experience of mind and matter, I learned a lot. There are various lines of thought from tattoos being totally not ok in dharma, to being totally part of cultural traditions. For me, it was a project that yielded very clear experiential insights.

Also the placement is easy to conceal in the corporate world I work in. :twothumbsup:
Wow! Very nice work and your choices of placement are great!
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by zenman »

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Grigoris
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Grigoris »

amanitamusc wrote: Tue May 15, 2018 4:48 amCan we see?
tattoo.jpg
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"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
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Ogyen
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Ogyen »

Grigoris wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 3:09 pm
amanitamusc wrote: Tue May 15, 2018 4:48 amCan we see?

tattoo.jpg
Gorgeous. I love this.
Image Made from 100% recycled karma

The Heart Drive - nosce te ipsum

"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget." –Arundhati Roy
Wicked Yeshe
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Wicked Yeshe »

Image

Kannon.
amanitamusc
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by amanitamusc »

Grigoris wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 3:09 pm
amanitamusc wrote: Tue May 15, 2018 4:48 amCan we see?

tattoo.jpg
Nice! It has a certain Thai look to it on the top?
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Grigoris
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by Grigoris »

amanitamusc wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 9:09 pm
Grigoris wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 3:09 pm
amanitamusc wrote: Tue May 15, 2018 4:48 amCan we see?

tattoo.jpg
Nice! It has a certain Thai look to it on the top?
Yes. Initially I was going to do "ye dharma" in Pali script but then I thought to add the sanskrit alphabet so I did them both in sanskrit with the Thai symbols of liberation above the text.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
A Ah Sha Sa Ma Ha
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Re: Reasonable things to tattoo

Post by A Ah Sha Sa Ma Ha »

Ogyen wrote: Wed May 16, 2018 12:03 am Ogyen Tattoos.jpg

Nothing secret here, but it is my core practice (in case I have an accident and get amnesia). 7 line prayer, 100 syllable vajrasattva mantra, song of vajra and some symbolized items in my red seals - one is a stylized yabyum to NOT depict actual union, which is inappropriate, but to represent it, and the other is a double dorje, both enclosed in the 6 primordial syllables. I did NOT get a big Tibetan A, but I didn't think it necessary, as it's subsumed into every part of the script.

44 hours of work in which I really took it upon myself to understand the ephemeral illusory nature of sensation and its memory, as well, as impermanence. Very interesting experience of mind and matter, I learned a lot. There are various lines of thought from tattoos being totally not ok in dharma, to being totally part of cultural traditions. For me, it was a project that yielded very clear experiential insights.

Also the placement is easy to conceal in the corporate world I work in. :twothumbsup:
:jawdrop:

WOW
VERY COOL !!!
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