Sak Yant Tattoo
I think everyone has a reason or reasons why they travel abroad. Some may be escaping tough situations in their home country, others may want to explore their spirituality whereby taking the time to work on themselves, and there are a select few that take from the country they are in thus leaving it a worse place. In my opinion, Thailand caters to all these people while still holding true to their core values. I have seen young men, middle age and older adults indulging in the party atmosphere. Then there are teachers here wanting to find themselves through a spiritual quest while giving back to the Thai people a skill set like English speaking. And there are definitely quite a few foreigners who did not fit in the states or other first world countries and function seamlessly in the Thai society.
Before coming to Thailand, I thought I was on a journey that combined two core elements: I wanted to find out who I was by utilizing my passion which is to teach others. Now, I am evolving into someone much different. I am beginning to see myself in a different light and experiencing the world with a gentleness and humility that has been shaped through dramatic life moments. One of these moments happened to me on Saturday morning (06-29-2019).
Tattoos are an important part of my life and represent meaningful transitional moments. I thought this would be a great opportunity to interact with the Thai spiritual world while receiving a mind-blowing tattoo. For months, I had been researching traditional Sak Yant tattoos. No, not the one Angelina Jolie has (well maybe). I had been reading about how Ajarn’s (teachers) and trained monks will give a traditional tattoo using a metal rod sharpened to a point or that has several tattoo needles at the end called a khem sak. After receiving the tattoo, the Ajarn or monk will imbue the tattoo with spiritual powers and bless it, awakening the symbols or phrases.
I finally found Ajarn To who lives outside of Bangkok in a small suburb. On Saturday morning, I took a 45-minute taxi ride from Rangsit to his home (approximately 175Baht) and was dropped off at his front door. The front gate was locked shut so I asked several of his Thai speaking neighbors if I was at the right home.
Front Gate leading into Ajarn To’s tattoo shop.
They tried to communicate with me to no avail and one gracious elderly woman opened the gate and started knocking on his front sliding glass door. Shortly thereafter, Arjun To motioned me inside his home. He was a soft spoken man who spoke enough English to communicate with me on a basic level. The first floor of his home was filled with gold masks, amulets, trinkets, pictures of monks, photos of Ajarns and Buddha statues. It felt like I had traveled back in time to a place I had only dreamed of. As I’m writing this, I am getting choked up thinking about the memory because it was so powerful.
Ajarn To preparing his work area.
Khem Sak (metal tattoo rod)
He asked me what tattoo I wanted and I replied, “Sak Yant.” He sat down and showed me a booklet that had hundreds of Sak Yant tattoos. I pointed to one I really liked and asked if he could tattoo it on my chest because I have no more room on my arms or back. He informed me that certain tattoos go on specific places on the body and he would not tattoo my first choice on my chest because it only went on the shoulders or back. He directed me to several chest tattoos and I was mesmerized by their intricate design structure. I pointed to the one I would eventually receive and he informed me that it represented power, blessings, and luck.
We started the tattoo session by lighting incense at which point he directed me to my knees in front of a shrine and I then had to chant with him in Thai for approximately 10 minutes. I had no idea what I said but he took the time to pronunciate each word and made sure I was speaking it correctly. I placed the incense in a large bowl filled with sand and he had me sit on a small wooden bench in front of his work space. For the next half hour, he drew the template on my upper chest and made sure it was centered properly.
Then the real work began. He poured some type of viscous liquid over my chest and started mumbling words. I watched him dip the end of the metal rod into the black tattoo ink and away we went. The feeling was much different than a machine tattoo. I wouldn’t say it hurt more, it just felt different because I intimately felt each poke of the rod. At this point, I’m waiting for my body to react to the pain and numb itself a little bit but this did not happen. Further, Ajarn To was able to complete the tattoo without any stencil.
After an hour and a half, he stopped, smiled and said, “We’re done.” I was elated. He immediately placed three gold flakes on the ends and middle of my tattoo and muttered some type of blessing. Still in a daze, he had me sit cross legged on the ground and began sprinkling water on me while chanting. He also rubbed some type of stick (looked like a wand) on my new tattoo and this lasted for approximately 20 minutes. When he was done, I stood up, shook out my legs and looked at my tattoo for the first time.
Right After (It’s a little red from enduring thousands of pokes).
Day After.
It was exactly what I wanted and I am convinced there was a reason why I ended up at his home. I asked him how much I owed him and he said, “Donation.” I was confused by his response and I asked him again how much he wanted for the tattoo. He explained that he accepted whatever I wanted to give him. Wow, I think I found tattoo heaven!!!
I ended up giving him the equivalent of $100.00US and asked him if he could direct me to a taxi. He looked on his cell phone and said there were no taxis available in the area. We stood looking at each other because I didn’t know what to do and he broke the awkward silence by offering to give me a ride to the nearest taxi depot. I thanked him profusely, jumped in the passenger’s seat of his white SUV and he drove me 30 minutes to a mall parking lot where I was able to get a taxi.
Living a life without borders is pretty awesome.