Tattoos in Buddhism, Acceptable or not???

[Demarous]

I am now following the Buddhist path, and have thought about the possibility of becoming a Monk. I have Tattoos from years ago and wonder what the thoughts of tattoos are within Monks as i know that personal adornment is a problem?!!
Does anyone know? What are your opinions? Does it, or should it matter?
Demarous.

[Dhammanando]

Tattoos are only an impediment to receiving ordination if one was marked with them as a punishment for a crime.

[Demarous]

Thats good, wouldn't want something i did in my youth holding me back! Thank you.

[Mexicali]

Now that bhante has answered, I'm going to go off topic a bit....

Just as a personal preference, I'm not a fan of the "dharma" tattoos that seem to be getting more popular with Buddhists my own age. I understand that there's no explicit instruction not to do it in most traditions, but it seems like such an unwise use of resources, unnecessary harm to one's own body, and affected. Then again, I'm just not a fan of "hip" Buddhism in general.

Obviously, I'm not referring to people who already have tattoos, so no offense demarous. If you plan to become a monk, you wouldn't be the first heavily tattooed one. Hope it works out for you if it's the path you choose!

[Jechbi]

tattooed%20child.jpg (19.13 KiB) Viewed 10447 times

[puthujjana]

I understand that there's no explicit instruction not to do it in most traditions, but it seems like such an unwise use of resources, unnecessary harm to one's own body, and affected.

I thought about getting "This too will pass" (just these few words) tattooed on the back of my hand or somewhere else where I will have to see it the whole day...

That would be a good reminder.

with metta

[Individual]

Tattoos are only an impediment to receiving ordination if one was marked with them as a punishment for a crime.

What if the tattoos are of a racist or sexist nature? Also, what about the case of extreme tattooes, like large tattooes on a person's face?

[Demarous]

I would have thought in this case it would probably be wise to get them covered up with a non offensive tattoo, Can't imagine a swastica on the forhead not offending anyone!!! You're right though, if they were offensive, not that my ones are, but if they were, would that become a problem???

[Fede]

You do know that a swastika is an ancient Buddhist symbol?

http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/s ... astika.htm

[Demarous]

I Was not aware of that........so.....i guess it wouldn't be so bad!!!!

[Jechbi]

CharlesManson.jpg (16.02 KiB) Viewed 10402 times

[BlackBird]

Some places you go have paintings adorning their walls, similar in nature is it not?

Metta
Jack

[Individual]

You do know that a swastika is an ancient Buddhist symbol?

http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/s ... astika.htm

Yeah, but let's say it's a swastika, with the words "HEIL HITLER" or "SEIG HEIL" underneath it, hmmm?

[Dhammanando]

What if the tattoos are of a racist or sexist nature? Also, what about the case of extreme tattooes, like large tattooes on a person's face?

These aren't given in the Vinaya as impediments to ordaining, nor are they nowadays treated as such.

I remember when I lived with Ajahn Maha Boowa there was a Thai monk in the community, Phra Sutchai, who had once done some serious done prison time for armed robbery. While in prison he had got one of the other prisoners to tattoo a naked woman on his back. This didn't stop him ordaining, though of course he came in for quite a bit of ribbing about it from the other monks.

Best wishes,
Dhammanando Bhikkhu

[Cittasanto]

I personally have 2 tattoos and am going to get another to complete the arm (my avatar is the next tattoo) people can make mistakes and get gang marks and racist symbols etc then realise there mistakes so they can either have them covered up or removed, but some will keep them as a reminder of past mistakes as a means of remembering lessons learnt.

ps the symbol in the middle of my avatar means where ever you throw me I shall stand and is the three legs of mann (Manx triskelion) which is on my national flag, and coat of arms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Man

[Fede]

You do know that a swastika is an ancient Buddhist symbol?

http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/s ... astika.htm

Yeah, but let's say it's a swastika, with the words "HEIL HITLER" or "SEIG HEIL" underneath it, hmmm?

well then it wouldn't be THE swastika, it would be A swastika.
Let's not be silly now.
You know precisely what I meant. Charles Manson being the obvious example of imbecilic stupidity.....

[Individual]

You do know that a swastika is an ancient Buddhist symbol?

http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/s ... astika.htm

Yeah, but let's say it's a swastika, with the words "HEIL HITLER" or "SEIG HEIL" underneath it, hmmm?

well then it wouldn't be THE swastika, it would be A swastika.
Let's not be silly now.
You know precisely what I meant. Charles Manson being the obvious example of imbecilic stupidity.....

Charles Manson is actually fairly intelligent. He's simply insane and evil, like Hannibal Lecter.

[Mexicali]

I understand that there's no explicit instruction not to do it in most traditions, but it seems like such an unwise use of resources, unnecessary harm to one's own body, and affected.

I thought about getting "This too will pass" (just these few words) tattooed on the back of my hand or somewhere else where I will have to see it the whole day...

That would be a good reminder.

with metta

Eh, that's cool, I just kind of feel that.....how to put this? It makes more sense to me to cultivate understanding before getting expensive colored scars as a reminder of anything. I've known people who get, say, a dharma wheel or Chinese characters as a 'reminder'. Unless you're the guy from Memento, being secure in practice should be a good enough reminder. If you're not secure in practice, that seems like a better use of time and resources than tattoos. I really think people only get tattoos for affective and (to a lesser extent) superstitious reasons, and neither seems to me especially useful. When temples are having trouble keeping the doors open due to finances, and most people haven't studied the core texts of Buddhism in any detail, the several hundred dollars a typical complex colored tattoo costs as a "Buddhist" statement seems to me a little misplaced. Also, in America, hand/facial tattoos are the marks of a drop out or criminal.

[Fede]

Charles Manson is actually fairly intelligent. He's simply insane and evil, like Hannibal Lecter.

No, I mean its imbecilic stupidity to put it where it is.

[jcsuperstar]

many many things are a waste of resources, tattoos probably being the most insignifigant of all, ranked right under questioning their merit or lack there of.