Round Two, Sak Yant Tattoo with Ajarn Sak (Bangkok Ink)
The past week has been a joyous remembrance of new beginnings, a life worth living, experiencing a culture that I have dreamed about for decades, and finding my niche in this thing we call life. My sadness at the thought of leaving my 288 students was real and tangible as tears flowed without constraint during school, after school, and in the wee hours of the night. My Thai students crossed cultural barriers and actually hugged me when they heard I was leaving! However, I still pushed to embrace what I was feeling. Instead of ignoring the pain and sense of loss, I held it in my hands as though it was a fragile lotus flower blooming in the radiant sun which is now the hope I call life. Each moment meant I was one step closer to seeing who I was reflected in the hour glass of time. It was in this transitional phase, I met my new found friend; Naga. This beautiful protector of Buddha permanently found his way into my heart about one week prior at a small temple in Rangsit, Pathum Thani. It was at this time, I overcame a foolish fear that I discussed in an earlier post. I think I knew deep in my soul that I would have to bring him with me back to America.
I subsequently traveled to Bangkok Ink (12, 7 Soi Sukhumvit 33, Khwaeng Khlong Tan Nuea, Khet Watthana, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110) to seek out an Ajarn who could make this dream a reality. I met Ajarn Sak who was warm, a gentle soul, and worked one on one with me to find the right spot on my body to signify where I had been and where I was going. He listened to my story through a Thai/English interpreter at which point we decided to place the Naga on my right side just above my lower rib cage in a protective position over the spot where since a little child; I had mentally housed the darkness. If you want to know more, ask me about it and I will joyfully tell you. If not, that time is over and a new man has risen from the ashes. I choose to be one who has a support system, seeks to help and stand by others dealing with mentally challenging situations, is honest with himself and others, and wants desperately to love unconditionally.
I can’t say this tattoo was a cake walk. The pain was intense. Several times I had to close my eyes for long periods to focus my full attention on embracing the needle repeatedly penetrating my skin. In my humble opinion, a Sak Yant bamboo tattoo is very different from the machine tattoo because you have no bearing or sense of what the Ajarn is doing on your body or the direction he is going with the tattoo art work. The sensation of him manually moving the stick rapidly back and forth, up and down, and in and out of my body combined with the intimate stinging prick of the needle intersected with each other whereby creating an anticipatory mental response.
Further, I distinctly remember him standing up, set his feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, the tattoo stick wavered momentarily over my chest, and he plunged down creating a whole new flavor of pain.
I was a little hesitant to share this next experience but I promised myself I would be honest when writing. When he completed the Thai writing underneath the Naga, we then took a short break and began on the main body of the snake god. I closed my eyes, preparing for the majority of the tattoo to begin at which point the first prick penetrated my skin and I saw a fiery snake with its mouth open, fangs flared. I’m not one for visions so it could have been anything. A trick of the mind, the pain factor, I could have been tired or maybe something else. Who knows. But I’ll never forget the image. I don’t want to weird anyone out too much but it happened; therefore it needs to be written.
After the tattoo was completed, he sat with me for a while and asked if I wanted him to bless the tattoo. I said, “Heck, yeah!” He prayed/chanted over me while seated on a funky golden throne with his hands on my shoulder, then blew the spirits away, and sealed the tattoo with a gold flake for protection.
I would highly recommend this clean, sanitary, friendly, well staffed tattoo parlor if you’re ever in Bangkok and looking for any type of tattoo or piercing.
Each experience, moment, interaction, and connection has led me down a narrow path of my choosing. I am a spiritual being who is rapidly finding truth weaving itself into the complex religious pantheon. I knocked on the door and for me, in my space, in my time, in my view, in my experiences, in my belief system; the door is wide open.