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getting a new tattoo tonight in Thailand
by
Semi-Sly
on 17 Jan, 2015 20:58
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Hi guys:
Well I finished my stint being an ordained Buddhist monk. What a great and challenging experience that was. I had to shave off my beard when I arrived there and part of the initial ceremonies to become a monk involved having one of the monks shave off my hair and eyebrows with a DE razor. No fancy shave cream, and no clipping the hair before shaving; just a bucket of cold water and a bar of soap - and wham bam shaved bald in under three minutes!
What an experience! If you are interested I will write about it when I get home next week and have a normal keyboard.
I went through the disrobing ceremony yesterday and left the monastery. I took a bus back to Chiang Mai and am staying tonight in a guest house here before leaving for home on Monday night. While I am here I want to experience getting a tattoo in the old manor with a bamboo stick and a needle. I have an appointment for tonight. It is going to be a mixture of a traditional Sak Yant tattoo with new school tigers inside if it instead of just line-type tigers. It will be placed on my lower back.
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#1
by
Mike E. P.
on 17 Jan, 2015 21:34
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Randy, it would be great to hear the details of your trip. Have a good trip home.
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#2
by
Hieu Tran
on 18 Jan, 2015 08:06
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Wow, look like you got nice experiences on your trip to Thailand. Monks shave their head really fast and smooth.
I saw Thai tattoo on monk's body on the internet. It's great. I love tattoos but can't have one at this time. It's would be great if I can see yours.
Congrats anyway BBBA
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#3
by
TheSlyBear
on 18 Jan, 2015 12:12
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Wow. Sounds like an incredible journey. Would be great to hear more about it.
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#4
by
baldjoeg
on 18 Jan, 2015 12:21
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HI Randy,
Wow, what a great experience. I would be interested in hearing more about it when You get back. Hope that you have a safe trip home. Take care buddy.
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#5
by
Hingatao
on 19 Jan, 2015 10:15
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I'm jealous!
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#6
by
Sir Harry
on 19 Jan, 2015 20:44
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Have a safe trip home, Randy! Can't wait to hear more details!
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#7
by
Semi-Sly
on 21 Jan, 2015 23:08
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This is the only photo I have of the Tattoo. The next day he colored in the tigers. This was all done with bamboo sticks that needles tied to the ends of them; one to five needles, depending on what he is trying to do.
It actually doesn't hurt as much as a machine tattoo does, (except for the fact that it was done on my lower back which is a very sensitive area!} The needles don't go down as deeply as the machine needles do. They use less ink.. And, where a regular machine needle is being moved regardless of whether the needle is up or down, there tends to be a slicing/tearing/scarring of the skin. In bamboo needle tattooing the artist only moves the needle when it is out of the skin.
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#8
by
TheSlyBear
on 22 Jan, 2015 07:59
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Wow. That is amazing and beautiful. I cannot wait to see it colored in.
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#9
by
SlyMike
on 22 Jan, 2015 13:52
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That looks great! Look forward to seeing it coloured in.
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#10
by
Mike E. P.
on 22 Jan, 2015 16:12
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Wow. Great design, Randy.
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#11
by
tobler1
on 22 Jan, 2015 17:59
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I like it. Do you know roughly what the Thai says?
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#12
by
baldjoeg
on 22 Jan, 2015 18:14
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Nice tatoo Randy. I would like to see it when it is finished.
Glad you had a great trip.
Take care.
Joe G.
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#13
by
Semi-Sly
on 22 Jan, 2015 18:49
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I like it. Do you know roughly what the Thai says?
The writing is Sanskrit. In general, this was a tattoo worn by Thai soldiers during their many wars with the Burmese and the Lao. It was a "lucky" or "magic" tattoo which was supposed to give the wearer protection in battle and the ability to persevere even if wounded.
I liked the tattoo for the traditional artwork and the application but I don't believe in magic. Also, I don't like what some monks are doing in Thailand by perpetuating these pre-buddhist myths and by "selling" these tattoos to foreigners. The real monks in Thailand are really quite upset by this activity. And, I didn't want to "rip off" what was a sacred tattoo to another man, so I had the traditional tigers replaced with slightly more modern looking and colored ones. But I still had the tattoo done in the traditional manner with bamboo rods and needles - but by a professional tattoo artist; not by a so-called "Monk".
Randy
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#14
by
tobler1
on 22 Jan, 2015 19:15
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Thanks for the explanation. I didn't realize that was Sanskrit, but that makes sense since I know the Buddhist scripts that the Thais use are all in Pali, which is pretty closely related to Sanskrit.