3/20/2024 0 Comments Tibetan wheel of life tattoo![]() ![]() It’d become painfully obvious in recent years that many people from the cultures behind these images see their use by outsiders as harmful appropriation. But when I looked at common Buddhist designs on offer, I froze. Image by Karma Tsering Gyamtso | īy 2014 I was certain that I wanted this tattoo I sat on the idea for two years to make sure it was more than an impulsive desire. I was a Western Buddhist, finding ways to understand and realize the dharma through my own culture, which often meant offloading ornate symbologies and esoterica grounded in other traditions in favor of a back-to-basics set of beliefs and practices to guide me through life.Īnd navigating through a mostly Judeo-Christian world, I wanted a symbol-something permanent-that would remind me of and focus me on my path and practice. Over the years I made an effort to carve out an understanding of Buddhist thought and practice from my own cultural vantage.Įventually I started holding myself to the five precepts, practicing mindfulness in as many of my actions as I could, and following the eightfold path, even if I didn’t subscribe to any singular tradition. And I find myself missing more days of my idiosyncratic meditation practice, cobbled together from piecemeal instruction, than I’d like to admit.īut I found the dharma during a particularly difficult chapter of my life-at first through tattered secondhand books and then through a jumbled exposure to practitioners of numerous lineages. ![]() ![]() I don’t often make it to temples or prayer centers. I’m a white guy who grew up in an atheist home in eastern Washington with no exposure to the tradition until my teenage years.Īnd I’m not the world’s most devout practitioner. Four years ago, I realized I wanted to get a Buddhist tattoo over my heart. I’m not Buddhist by birth or cultural heritage. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |