Sak Yant

[thaiboxa]

hi,

i am new to this forum, i have recently returned from Bangkok where i received two Sak Yant tattoos. i believe there are yants attached to the Sak Yant which should be said every day to keep the power strong in the tattoo? i am looking for the yants so that i can start saying them on a daily basis.. also i am in the process of learning the way of Buddha, mainly Theravada. i have started to arrange a Thai Altar in my house in which i like to light a inscence stick daily, i would like to say a prayer before i light the insence but i am wondering if there is anything in particular i should be saying?

i would really appriciate any help on these two subjects?

thanks in advance..

Dan

[rics21]

what kinda tattoo is it?

oil ? ink?

which temple did u get in done?

which ajarn?

1. normally u need to follow the rules and regulations of the ajarn being a luk seet. a good ajarn will normally let the luk seet know of his/ her responsibility before accepting them.

2. anyway the offering of incense sticks to the Lord Gautama Buddha, other Buddhas, deities or Monks are different as in, the number sticks controlled.

even to the dead, incense sticks are used.

3. there are so many mantras on the yant, anyway there are so many yants nowadays it is difficult to keep up.

i guess u r a farang who didnt have much knowledge in Thai buddhism or Thai culture.

or

a singaporean or malaysian chinese fellow trying to be a muay thai artist.

Edited December 15, 2010 by rics21

[thaiboxa]

The Sak Yant is ink, the first one i got was lines accross the top part of my back and up the rear part of my neck (i believe it has something to do with the umbilical cord to Buddha??), the second one is two tigers in the middle of my back (which i believe is for strength and protection??), they were both done at Wat Bang Pra in Bangkok. i am not sure of the Ajarn's name or of the Yants required, i went there alone and as i dont speek Thai (yet) is was very hard to ask questions. i do try to follow the rules of Abstention in reguards to the Sakyant rules of Bang pra.

i am a Farang (Australian) thaiboxer.

so the incense is an offering to Buddha, are prayers usually said before lighting them?

my knowledge in thai culture and Buddhism is low. but i have decided to look further into there beliefs. hence why i have come onto this forum.

thankyou for your reply

[crazygreg44]

Hi, many years ago I met Spencer Littlewood, who has abroad knowledge of Sak Yant and related budhism. You can find all his research on Sak Yant if you google for sak yant ajarn spencer !

[rics21]

The Sak Yant is ink, the first one i got was lines accross the top part of my back and up the rear part of my neck (i believe it has something to do with the umbilical cord to Buddha??), the second one is two tigers in the middle of my back (which i believe is for strength and protection??), they were both done at Wat Bang Pra in Bangkok. i am not sure of the Ajarn's name or of the Yants required, i went there alone and as i dont speek Thai (yet) is was very hard to ask questions. i do try to follow the rules of Abstention in reguards to the Sakyant rules of Bang pra.

i am a Farang (Australian) thaiboxer.

so the incense is an offering to Buddha, are prayers usually said before lighting them?

my knowledge in thai culture and Buddhism is low. but i have decided to look further into there beliefs. hence why i have come onto this forum.

thankyou for your reply

i m not sure of the lines u mentioned. there are quite a lot of yants with lines, for example is the yant ha taew also known as the Five Pillars Yantra, as made popular by the Actress Angelina Jolie. She got it from Ajarn Noo Ganpai, i m not sure which version of yant was used by Wat Bang Pra. Wat Bang Pra is kinda famous in Nakorn Pathom Province, and is kinda famous for its yants.

the two tigers should be yant suea koo; meaning "amulet of the tiger pair". there are quite a few of the yants with 2 tigers so i m not sure which one u have.

as for the mantra, it is in the "pali" and different ajarn uses different mantra.

[rgs2001uk]

The Sak Yant is ink, the first one i got was lines accross the top part of my back and up the rear part of my neck (i believe it has something to do with the umbilical cord to Buddha??), the second one is two tigers in the middle of my back (which i believe is for strength and protection??), they were both done at Wat Bang Pra in Bangkok. i am not sure of the Ajarn's name or of the Yants required, i went there alone and as i dont speek Thai (yet) is was very hard to ask questions. i do try to follow the rules of Abstention in reguards to the Sakyant rules of Bang pra.

i am a Farang (Australian) thaiboxer.

so the incense is an offering to Buddha, are prayers usually said before lighting them?

my knowledge in thai culture and Buddhism is low. but i have decided to look further into there beliefs. hence why i have come onto this forum.

thankyou for your reply

Its debatable as to whether these sak yants have anything to do with either Buddhism or Thai culture.

To most normal Thais sak yants are seen as a sign of low class.

Yes it is fashionable now for certain HiSo types to have them, nothing to do with religious beliefs more to do with a show of wealth.

The most infamous master in Thailand now charges prices off the chart for most Thais, you may be lucky if he actually does the actual tattoo itself,

more likely to be done by one of his staff and then blessed by him.

If you head over to the Buddhism forum there is a pinned thread (tattoos) that deals with the above subject.

The Thais I know who have these tattoos tell the the going rate is about 200 to 500 baht per tattoo, as oppossed to some people being charged 50,000 baht and

upwards elsewhere.

[floridaguy]

The Sak Yant is ink, the first one i got was lines accross the top part of my back and up the rear part of my neck (i believe it has something to do with the umbilical cord to Buddha??), the second one is two tigers in the middle of my back (which i believe is for strength and protection??), they were both done at Wat Bang Pra in Bangkok. i am not sure of the Ajarn's name or of the Yants required, i went there alone and as i dont speek Thai (yet) is was very hard to ask questions. i do try to follow the rules of Abstention in reguards to the Sakyant rules of Bang pra.

i am a Farang (Australian) thaiboxer.

so the incense is an offering to Buddha, are prayers usually said before lighting them?

my knowledge in thai culture and Buddhism is low. but i have decided to look further into there beliefs. hence why i have come onto this forum.

thankyou for your reply

Its debatable as to whether these sak yants have anything to do with either Buddhism or Thai culture.

To most normal Thais sak yants are seen as a sign of low class.

Yes it is fashionable now for certain HiSo types to have them, nothing to do with religious beliefs more to do with a show of wealth.

The most infamous master in Thailand now charges prices off the chart for most Thais, you may be lucky if he actually does the actual tattoo itself,

more likely to be done by one of his staff and then blessed by him.

If you head over to the Buddhism forum there is a pinned thread (tattoos) that deals with the above subject.

The Thais I know who have these tattoos tell the the going rate is about 200 to 500 baht per tattoo, as oppossed to some people being charged 50,000 baht and

upwards elsewhere.

Some sak are out of the price range of most people, not just Thais. Ajarn Noo Ganpai who did Anjolina Jolie's charges over 10,000 USD for one now, and it is very hard to find him, since he travels the world doing these. I went to Wat Bang Phra in Nakon Pathom. There is no charge for the sak at any wat. It is up to you to make a donation to the temple, in the form of cigarettes, flowers, and incense that you purchase in front of the temple and place into the offering plate that the monk who will do the sak is at. You may place money in there, but it is more accepted to place gifts. Only private ajarns charge.

As for the chants and the meanings of your sak OP, it is completely dependent on you. When you see the monk, normally he questions you and asks if you have anything specific that you need protection from, any specific sak you want. If not, he just makes the determination and does it. For example, the sak you mentioned, with horizontal script and a "pyramid" shape can offer protection from many things, such as spirits, weapons, disease, etc. It is impossible to know without having someone read it.

[craigt3365]

How about we move this to the Buddhism forum. You might get some more replies over there. Good luck!

//Moved//

[thaiboxa]

thankyou for all your reply's..

i cant understand why Sak Yant would be seen by the thai's as a sign of lower class.. i have found the Sak Yant.com website and will take some pictures of my Yants and try to find out more about them on there.

i gave the offering before my yant was applied, i also donated money in an envolope. after the yant was done i went outside an "rented an Amulet" which i had blessed. i was also approached buy a thai man to purchase a bag on live fish and a turtle and put them back into the river as an offering to Buddha?? i did this and then went on to feed the local elephant..

at present we have Ajarn Lao in Australia applying Yants for a cost.... Sak Yant is becoming more and more popular with Muaythai fighters in Australia, nobody else in this country has them. i personaly would only receive them in Thailand and i am wanting to carry out the rules that come with the Yant, unlike most who have them over here! my reasons for having my Yants applied are NOT for cosmetic looks!

the more i read into Buddhism, the more i want to continue to learn about it.

[thaiboxa]

is there anyone on here that could help me out with the arrangement of a Thai Altar in my house? location, arrangement, what generally goes onto the Altar, things like that??

thanks

[rgs2001uk]

thankyou for all your reply's..

i cant understand why Sak Yant would be seen by the thai's as a sign of lower class.. i have found the Sak Yant.com website and will take some pictures of my Yants and try to find out more about them on there.

i gave the offering before my yant was applied, i also donated money in an envolope. after the yant was done i went outside an "rented an Amulet" which i had blessed. i was also approached buy a thai man to purchase a bag on live fish and a turtle and put them back into the river as an offering to Buddha?? i did this and then went on to feed the local elephant..

at present we have Ajarn Lao in Australia applying Yants for a cost.... Sak Yant is becoming more and more popular with Muaythai fighters in Australia, nobody else in this country has them. i personaly would only receive them in Thailand and i am wanting to carry out the rules that come with the Yant, unlike most who have them over here! my reasons for having my Yants applied are NOT for cosmetic looks!

the more i read into Buddhism, the more i want to continue to learn about it.

Your quest for knowledge is to be commended, at least you are asking questions which is more than most.

You say you don't understand why these are viewed as a sign of low class.

I take it you don't live in Thailand or speak Thai, please excuse me if I presume too much.

The people most asscoiated with the sak yant are percieved to be from the lower levels of Thai society, security guards, motorcycle taxi drivers, labourers etc etc.

Also most seem to originate from the Issan region of Thailand, and everything than entails.

I don't have the inclanation to give a speach of the class system hierarchial society that exists in Thailand, you can do your own research.

Another problem for those with sak yant, are the hippy KSR backpacker types, they come here get their hair dreadlocked and head off to the islands where as part of their rite of passage they end up with a sak yant, with no understanding of what it is or why they had it done.

There are also people I know who have had them removed by laser, blaming them for bringing them bad luck.

Did the monk ask you your date of birth and what your profession is?

Usually the sak yant given is related to your personal characteristics, hence the reason why if two people go to the same temple at the same time they will recieve two different sak yant.

Do you know the difference between a monk and an ajarn?

After your sak yant was applied you basically did whats called tam boon, made good luck.

I know a fair few guys who come to Thailand to be tattooed because its cheaper here (1,000 baht per hour) than the costs in Australia, I am talking normal tattoos here not sak yant.

As for the rules , each monk/ajarn will have his own rules, such as no eating beef, no oral sex, the restrictions for you may not even be suitable for the diet of a fighter.

This is now big business now for some, as mentioned by a previous poster, the most infamous master in Thailand basically shut up shop in Thailand and is now almost impossible to contact.

I fear the same may be happening in Australia, there is no doubt it is big business from what you mentioned earlier.

Try reading the following links,

http://www.kickboxermag.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=10289

I like the comments made in post number 8.

http://www.kickboxermag.com.au/forum/archive/index.php/t-7149.htm

Many pertinent comments on the above link.

http://www.sak-yant.com/samnak-sak-yant/ajarn-lao/

read the comments on the poster under the heading sak yant.

http://www.sak-yant.com/2009/12/ajarn-thoy-in-australia/

What exactly is a sak yant expert?

Can this guy read Pali/Sanskrit?

Can he recite the different katha?

I notice from the two links above that it is ajarns and not monks visiting Australia, I would also be interested to know how much they are charging per sak yant.

The ajarns I have visited in Thailand seem almost to be like a production line, and I am talking about ones well off the tourist trail such as at Phra Phadaeng.

There are also many women getting tattooed thinking it will help them in love.

There are also temples where you can receive sak yant from monks, one on On Nut soi 25, sorry cant remember its name, also another one on Sukhapiban 1 is popular with some of the guys I know, as a previous poster mentioned, there is no fixed price, make your offerings, thats why I mentioned before about 200 to 500 baht, thats how much the Thai men I know have told me it cost in total.

[khaowong1]

The Sak Yant is ink, the first one i got was lines accross the top part of my back and up the rear part of my neck (i believe it has something to do with the umbilical cord to Buddha??), the second one is two tigers in the middle of my back (which i believe is for strength and protection??), they were both done at Wat Bang Pra in Bangkok. i am not sure of the Ajarn's name or of the Yants required, i went there alone and as i dont speek Thai (yet) is was very hard to ask questions. i do try to follow the rules of Abstention in reguards to the Sakyant rules of Bang pra.

i am a Farang (Australian) thaiboxer.

so the incense is an offering to Buddha, are prayers usually said before lighting them?

my knowledge in thai culture and Buddhism is low. but i have decided to look further into there beliefs. hence why i have come onto this forum.

thankyou for your reply

Its debatable as to whether these sak yants have anything to do with either Buddhism or Thai culture.

To most normal Thais sak yants are seen as a sign of low class.

Yes it is fashionable now for certain HiSo types to have them, nothing to do with religious beliefs more to do with a show of wealth.

The most infamous master in Thailand now charges prices off the chart for most Thais, you may be lucky if he actually does the actual tattoo itself,

more likely to be done by one of his staff and then blessed by him.

If you head over to the Buddhism forum there is a pinned thread (tattoos) that deals with the above subject.

The Thais I know who have these tattoos tell the the going rate is about 200 to 500 baht per tattoo, as oppossed to some people being charged 50,000 baht and

upwards elsewhere.

Some sak are out of the price range of most people, not just Thais. Ajarn Noo Ganpai who did Anjolina Jolie's charges over 10,000 USD for one now, and it is very hard to find him, since he travels the world doing these. I went to Wat Bang Phra in Nakon Pathom. There is no charge for the sak at any wat. It is up to you to make a donation to the temple, in the form of cigarettes, flowers, and incense that you purchase in front of the temple and place into the offering plate that the monk who will do the sak is at. You may place money in there, but it is more accepted to place gifts. Only private ajarns charge.

As for the chants and the meanings of your sak OP, it is completely dependent on you. When you see the monk, normally he questions you and asks if you have anything specific that you need protection from, any specific sak you want. If not, he just makes the determination and does it. For example, the sak you mentioned, with horizontal script and a "pyramid" shape can offer protection from many things, such as spirits, weapons, disease, etc. It is impossible to know without having someone read it.

very good reply Floridaguy.. this pretty much says it all.

[sabaijai]

See pinned topic, continue discussion there, thanks.