Are you sometimes lured by the mystique of the Tattoo? Can you take the pain?

[Luuk Chaai]

Gee..  if we didn't have all these  beautiful Tat's  ,, ( yes I do )  some people would have nothing to B(itch) about and probably spend the better part of the  day trying to remove that stick from their  A**

[MrJ2U]

2 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Regret what? Getting a tattoo.....I

Yes.

 

That's what the thread is about.

 

Tattoos don't age well so hopefully there are important as you imply they are.

 

Everyone makes choices.  For me having tattoos is one of them. 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by MrJ2U

[GarryP]

3 hours ago, TigerandDog said:

Far too many cases of judging a book by it's cover. Who really cares what the nay sayers think, certainly not me. The tats I have, have specific meaning to me and I don't fall into any of the categories listed earlier by a very narrow minded poster. I grew up in an era when having a tattoo was frowned upon by the oldies of the time. I eventually woke up to the fact that I didn't have to please others in this life, just myself. I got my first tattoo at age 60. I now have 10. All those posters with such narrow minded opinions about tats should keep your negativity to yourselves as none of you have the right to say whether it is wrong to have tattoos. Learn to accept people for who they are, not what their appearance is.

I want one but feel I am too old for it (59), but your post has made me rethink this. There are some really great designs out there. 

[Ralf001]

12 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

Yes.

 

That's what this thread about.

 

Tattoo's on older people look awful.

 

As I said though earlier to each his own. 

I see many younger men 20/30's with a lot of colour on them.

 

assuming they live to a ripe  old age that will be another 50 to 80 years.

 

I cannot fathom living that long with a <deleted>ty Ed Hardy t-shirt inked into my skin.....

 

the <deleted> is wrong with people ?

[MrJ2U]

6 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

I see many younger men 20/30's with a lot of colour on them.

 

assuming they live to a ripe  old age that will be another 50 to 80 years.

 

I cannot fathom living that long with a <deleted>ty Ed Hardy t-shirt inked into my skin.....

 

the <deleted> is wrong with people ?

Imagine what some of those tats look like on a flabby 50 year old woman. 

[ThailandRyan]

32 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

Yes.

 

That's what the thread is about.

 

Tattoos don't age well so hopefully there are important as you imply they are.

 

Everyone makes choices.  For me having tattoos is one of them. 

 

 

As I said I do not regret it one bit.  My oldest Tattoo is from my Military days, so it is almost 40 Years old and looks just like it did when I got it.  It was touched up a bit 5 years ago, but as you think Tattoo's don't age well I hate to tell you that they do if done right.  All of my Tattoo's were done by just 2 Buddhist Monks over a almost 40 year period, the last was done this year, and are all of a type of Sak Yant or Yantra. I have none on my lower body or below the sleeve line on my T-shirts and short sleeve shirts.  However, underneath my shirts my entire back is done with different Tattoo's as well as both of my upper arm/shoulder area.  If you look at me like you would anyone else, you would not know I had tattoo's.  I do not wear clothes which show them off as they are for me and me alone.  I have no ego, nor am I a narcissist.  However, if you saw me swimming, you would wonder how you missed the fact that I am a Tattooed person.  My kids are the same way, they have tattoo's but because of their professions keep them under wraps as well.  

[connda]

3 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

There are Theravadin Monks and Buddhist Monks here in Thailand along with many other classifications of Theravadin Monks like the Forest Monks and so on.  Best you do some more research on Theravadin Monks and Tattoo's and the origin.

 

https://www.diffen.com/difference/Buddhism_vs_Theravada

 

https://www.thai.tattoo/sak-yant/

 

Yantra designs go back to the days of Brahmins in India. The concept of sacred geometry stems from this Indian past, as does the use of Hindu deities such as Hanuman.

You’ll be surprised to learn the influence India has had on Thailand. Thailand’s national epic is actually a Thai re-telling of the major Sanskrit legend, the Ramayana.

If your are into ritualized body art that conveys special powers, then you're missing the most salient point of Siddhartha Guatma's Buddha's teachings, and reflect:  "What part of your being feels the need to imprint the skin of a chunk of slowly decaying meat with a symbol that is meant to grant you powers. There is no permanence in either.  The act itself is an attempt to change what is and grasp on to illusion. 

And the fact that there are monks within Thailand (a majority I'm afraid), that do all sorts of mumbo-jumbo that has little to do with Buddhism and a lot to do with making money.  I'm not particularly ignorant about how the Sangha functions here in Thailand.  I understand, much to my chagrin at times.  What other people choose to do is irrelevant at the end of the day.  It's what I do in my own practice that is important.

So I'm just really pressing on a fact that is inherent in the core Buddhist teachings, i.e., 
This type of tattooing has it's basis in superstition and legend, and simply anchors adherents into this corporal world of impermanence as though it is something solid. 
It's the anti-thesis of non-self (annata) - it focuses your practice and belief directly on "self."
And the tattoo and the supportive "powers" are impermanent.  You, the tattoo, and the 'magic powers' fade into dust. 

But hey - just a friendly discussion.  At the end of the day it's basically, "Do as thy will..."

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by connda

[MrJ2U]

43 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

As I said I do not regret it one bit.  My oldest Tattoo is from my Military days, so it is almost 40 Years old and looks just like it did when I got it.  It was touched up a bit 5 years ago, but as you think Tattoo's don't age well I hate to tell you that they do if done right.  All of my Tattoo's were done by just 2 Buddhist Monks over a almost 40 year period, the last was done this year, and are all of a type of Sak Yant or Yantra. I have none on my lower body or below the sleeve line on my T-shirts and short sleeve shirts.  However, underneath my shirts my entire back is done with different Tattoo's as well as both of my upper arm/shoulder area.  If you look at me like you would anyone else, you would not know I had tattoo's.  I do not wear clothes which show them off as they are for me and me alone.  I have no ego, nor am I a narcissist.  However, if you saw me swimming, you would wonder how you missed the fact that I am a Tattooed person.  My kids are the same way, they have tattoo's but because of their professions keep them under wraps as well.  

I enjoy your posts.

 

Thanks for serving in the armed forces.  

 

Enjoy your week. 

[ThailandRyan]

22 minutes ago, connda said:

If your are into ritualized body art that conveys special powers, then you're missing the most salient point of Siddhartha Guatma's Buddha's teachings, and reflect:  "What part of your being feels the need to imprint the skin of a chunk of slowly decaying meat with a symbol that is meant to grant you powers. There is no permanence in either.  The act itself is an attempt to change what is and grasp on to illusion. 

And the fact that there are monks within Thailand (a majority I'm afraid), that do all sorts of mumbo-jumbo that has little to do with Buddhism and a lot to do with making money.  I'm not particularly ignorant about how the Sangha functions here in Thailand.  I understand, much to my chagrin at times.  What other people choose to do is irrelevant at the end of the day.  It's what I do in my own practice that is important.

So I'm just really pressing on a fact that is inherent in the core Buddhist teachings, i.e., 
This type of tattooing has it's basis in superstition and legend, and simply anchors adherents into this corporal world of impermanence as though it is something solid. 
It's the anti-thesis of non-self (annata) - it focuses your practice and belief directly on "self."
And the tattoo and the supportive "powers" are impermanent.  You, the tattoo, and the 'magic powers' fade into dust. 

But hey - just a friendly discussion.  At the end of the day it's basically, "Do as thy will..."

 

And when I die and go to the great barbeque in the sky I will be dust as well as everything on my body, Ashes to ashes and dust to dust, with rebirth coming hopefully in a life equal or greater than what I lived this time around. Yes I also believe in Reincarnation unlike many Buddhists.  

 

If you truly have followed Buddhism for any amount of time you might be a little surprised to know that people in a large portion of Buddhist Asia are not fond of reincarnation. From talking with different sects of Buddhist many just want the circle of birth and death to end because they know it represents suffering without end. However, I know that the Buddha taught that a so-called "person" is really just five elements (skandhas) that come together for just a small amount of time.  Those elements are: our body, our feelings, our perceptions, our mental states and our consciousness. These five elements change all the time and not a single element remains the same for two consecutive moments. 

 

I was taught that not only is our body impermanent, but our so-called soul is also impermanent as well.  When the idea of an immortal soul is replaced, our understanding of reincarnation gets closer to the truth.  

 

My Tattoo's reflect this as well.

[spidermike007]

Never. Most do it as a fashion statement, and a desire to belong. Millions are enduring the expense of having them removed, after many years of agony, over the bizarre choices they made, at a different point in their lives. Especially those ridiculous tribal bands. They are the worst. 

 

Now, it has become so fashionable, it does not seem to make much of a statement anymore. Not having a tattoo makes more of a statement of rebellion!

 

While I appreciate some tattoos aesthetically, especially on some women, I have never felt the need to have one. At points in my life, I thought about one. But, never found an image that might still be meaningful in ten or twenty years. Thankful for that. 

 

The army veteran and model, now 25 and living in Las Vegas, is not alone. As the number of Americans with tattoos continues to increase – one survey suggests three in 10 adults have at least one piece of ink, up from 21% a decade ago – so too does remorse. The poll reports that 8% of those with tattoos – potentially more than 5 million people – regret them.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2022/oct/24/tattoo-removal-popularity-ink-regret

Edited November 2, 2022 by spidermike007

[it is what it is]

reminds me of the tale from a former soldier, he and a mate were in the far east and each had a 'brother' tattoo in chinese characters. they were proud of their tattoos bonding them together. a couple of years later they found out the characters actually spelt 'fairy'. here ends the first lesson.

[ThailandRyan]

5 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Never. Most do it as a fashion statement, and a desire to belong. Millions are enduring the expense of having them removed, after many years of agony, over the bizarre choices they made, at a different point in their lives. Especially those ridiculous tribal bands. They are the worst. 

 

While I appreciate some tattoos aesthetically, especially in some women, I have never felt the need to have one. Thankful for that. 

Read up a little bit to widen your view alittle bit

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5632599/

 

Tattooing the skin as a means of personal expression is a ritualized practice that has been around for centuries across many different cultures. Accordingly, the symbolic meaning of tattoos has evolved over time and is highly individualized, from both the internal perspective of the wearer and the external perspective of an observer. Within modern Western societies through the 1970s, tattoos represented a cultural taboo, typically associated with those outside of the mainstream such as soldiers, incarcerated criminals, gang members, and others belonging to marginalized and counter-cultural groups. This paper aims to review the more recent epidemiology of tattoos in Western culture in order to establish that tattooing has become a mainstream phenomenon. We then review psychological and psychiatric aspects of tattoos, with a goal of revising outmoded stigmas about tattooing and helping clinicians working with tattooed patients to facilitate an exploration of the personal meaning of skin art and self-identity.

[Keep Right]

Never, why would I want to have my body stained by ink and join the lower class echelon?

[ThailandRyan]

Just now, Keep Right said:

Never, why would I want to have my body stained by ink and join the lower class echelon?

Care to explain the lower class echelon comment?  

[Keep Right]

1 minute ago, ThailandRyan said:

Care to explain the lower class echelon comment?  

No explanation needed. I think you understand.

[ThailandRyan]

2 minutes ago, Keep Right said:

No explanation needed. I think you understand.

No I am quite sure I do not understand your comment.  Are you trying to say that people who have tattoo's are low class, uneducated, poor, and so on.  If so I find your highly mistaken and need to do some research.  Status in life for those with tattoo's does not relegate one to a lower class.

[StreetCowboy]

The Tattoo is fine, depending on the weather

[spidermike007]

2 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Read up a little bit to widen your view alittle bit

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5632599/

 

Tattooing the skin as a means of personal expression is a ritualized practice that has been around for centuries across many different cultures. Accordingly, the symbolic meaning of tattoos has evolved over time and is highly individualized, from both the internal perspective of the wearer and the external perspective of an observer. Within modern Western societies through the 1970s, tattoos represented a cultural taboo, typically associated with those outside of the mainstream such as soldiers, incarcerated criminals, gang members, and others belonging to marginalized and counter-cultural groups. This paper aims to review the more recent epidemiology of tattoos in Western culture in order to establish that tattooing has become a mainstream phenomenon. We then review psychological and psychiatric aspects of tattoos, with a goal of revising outmoded stigmas about tattooing and helping clinicians working with tattooed patients to facilitate an exploration of the personal meaning of skin art and self-identity.

Well, one can make an argument that they meant more in ancient tribal cultures, as they were symbolic and had meaning within the tribe. 

 

I suppose you could argue a percent of the modern day tattoos are more of an attempt to belong, somehow. 

[Walker88]

No mystique, no lure. The pain thing is silly. I don't choose to get a root canal or prostate examination, but both of those offer a benefit beyond an opinion of aesthetics.

 

Tatts are a choice, to which everyone is entitled.

 

I choose 'no'. While I do my best not to judge, I cannot make myself like tatts anymore than I can make myself like a food I find unpleasant.

 

Not judging and not liking, however, are quite different things, the latter being out of one's control.

 

Like it or not we all have preferences and we all have things we don't like. Nobody can make himself like something that he simply finds unappealing. In this thread, two of those things came up, which to me are things I just cannot like. One is tatts, the other is any religion, even if it is called a 'philosophy' and not a faith. I can accept that both give other people pleasure and are a personal choice, and it is unlikely to affect my opinion of said individuals (unless they proselytize). I just have zero need for either. I don't need any drawings on me, and I don't need any Stone Age guy to tell me things that vary from patently obvious to simply wrong.

[Bluespunk]

15 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Just how painful might a tattoo be, on a scale of one to ten?

Have several and it didn’t hurt when got them. 

[Lacessit]

19 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Or, perhaps, humans, like cattle, just wish to be branded, even guys from Yale University.

In recent years, we have seen a marked uptick in willingness to brand ourselves.

This wish to be branded has finally extended to disfigurement of our flesh.

Rings in our noses?

Only we could do it to ourselves and feel happy about it.

If the government were to brand us, there would be a backlash.

And, I just love a woman with a ring in her nose.

She is the Me Too kind of girl.

 

Human behavior makes no sense to me.

Sorry.

 

We always knew that Yale was a school for water buffalo (kwai)...

 

 

Throughout my life, I have never worn some working-class type of branding, such as you see here at Yale.

 

He thinks he is Hot Stuff, just because he has a big Y.

But, this is just a signal of this boy's stupidity.

 

No genius would ever stoop to such a nadir.

 

Stop with the branding, be it on your skin, or just wearing a shirt with a company brand.

 

Why do you insist upon acting like cattle?

 

 

Since we have veered slightly off topic into the the field of rings and studs, I thought I would post a video to remind everyone of the perils of them.

Edited November 3, 2022 by Lacessit

[unblocktheplanet]

I was arrested in NYC. The first question they ask is, any scars or tattoos.

 

Unless you're in the merchant marine or navy, tattoos are nothing more than an ugly scar. What's grandma going to tell the kids about her tramp stamp or the butterfly when her boobs are hanging down to her waist?

 

Can you live with the same painting on your wall your whole life? Even the artistic ones make you nothing more than an Auschwitz lampshade. Be sure to put that in your will.

 

My three kids all have tattoos. Just sheep. Tattoos are stupid & ugly.

[seedy]

10 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Care to explain the lower class echelon comment?  

This and all the other "stupid, negative, criminal, ugly" comments by posters in this thread confirms my belief that the world is full of people who have not learned the simple precept 'Live and Let Live'

These would be the same people who support, or are - Fascists, Bigots, Racists, etc.

A simple "I do not like tattoos, so I choose not to have any" would be enuf.

But Oh No - Insult, denigrate, any who choose other than they do.

Getting a Tattoo is a Choice, a personal choice.

Others do not have to like it, agree with it, know the reasons for getting it.

It is none of their business.

Want to know the reason - ask. Don't judge.

 

Edited November 3, 2022 by seedy

[Mike Teavee]

22 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

I quite like the idea of having an "Inspirational" quote, but can never fully decide what I want it to be, at the moment I think it would be "Count No Man Happy Until the end is Known" but am sure that will change next week... 

 

 

As predicted the Herodotus quote has worn off so this week my Tattoo would be... "There but for the grace of God go I"

 

Something I think we can all take away & chew on for a while... 

 

 

FWIW The week before Herodotus it was Public Enemy... It might sound good, it might say a little something, but <deleted> the game if it don't mean nothing

 

Still like that one... 

 

[Grumpy one]

20 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

I've never understood the attraction to them and actually find them repulsive, The tattoo and the person it is on.

They may think the same of you 

[Ralf001]

27 minutes ago, Grumpy one said:

They may think the same of you 

Iam sure they do.

 

The amount of <deleted> I give.... is ZERO.

[Lemsta69]

19 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

So a tattoo in your view is designed by the wearer to impress someone,.....that is laughable.  As I said my tattoos stay covered up they are for me as they mean something to me and were never inked to impress others or gain attention.  Your view is tainted my man.  

I used to have this tainted viewpoint as well, rammed into me by my God-fearing mother at a very young age. it took me a very long time but, thank Buddha, I eventually got over it. 

[Henryford]

Actually they serve a useful purpose. It highlights the people you need to avoid.

[ThailandRyan]

Just now, Henryford said:

Actually they serve a useful purpose. It highlights the people you need to avoid.

So if you saw me out on the street, did not know me from Adam, never saw my tattoo's which were hidden away under my clothes, then what? you would mystically know I was tattooed and avoid me? please......

[Lacessit]

28 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

So if you saw me out on the street, did not know me from Adam, never saw my tattoo's which were hidden away under my clothes, then what? you would mystically know I was tattooed and avoid me? please......

Please explain to me the point of having a tattoo which never sees the light of day, because I really don't understand that.