sak yant - sacred tattoo
receiving this from a monk at wat bang phra was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. i feel truly blessed. you can read about traditional thai sak yant tattoos at www.sak-yant.com.
the writer of that site, who is very knowledgable about the traditions, got his first tattoo (the same design as this, which i am told is often the first the monk will choose for someone), from a monk at this wat, and if i am deciphering my friend's hard-to-read thai handwriting properly, this is from the same monk, who my friend has known for years. it took about 15 minutes, and the monk had to hold the long bamboo instrument with his hands many inches away from me, as monks are not permitted to touch women.
this is the photo i asked my friend ali to take for me afterwards as we walked away from the wat, to see what he had done... the monk chooses the design, and my back was to him with my head bowed the entire time, so this photograph was my first look at it. i love it and all that it represents.
the writer of that site, who is very knowledgable about the traditions, got his first tattoo (the same design as this, which i am told is often the first the monk will choose for someone), from a monk at this wat, and if i am deciphering my friend's hard-to-read thai handwriting properly, this is from the same monk, who my friend has known for years. it took about 15 minutes, and the monk had to hold the long bamboo instrument with his hands many inches away from me, as monks are not permitted to touch women.
this is the photo i asked my friend ali to take for me afterwards as we walked away from the wat, to see what he had done... the monk chooses the design, and my back was to him with my head bowed the entire time, so this photograph was my first look at it. i love it and all that it represents.
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