Buddha Quote Tattoo

fcs116

Hey all,

To start things off, i'm new around here and was never very religious until I spent a few months in Tibet last year and have become very interested in Buddhism, it just makes sense to me.

However, I come here seeking help with a tattoo of mine I will be getting.

A few things have happened in my life since my trip and a quote I was told over there,

It is better to travel well than to arrive.

is really suiting for whats been going on in my life, and I was wondering if someone could tell me the appropriate language to get it in, Pali, Sanskrit, or English?

I would prefer Pali or Sanskrit but have not been able to find a translation of it in those languages, could anyone help me out with this?

Valtiel

Well it's your tattoo. But my advice is to get it in English, for a few reasons. Firstly it's the language you speak and it's words have meaning to you. Second, because it's a bit of an odd quote and having done translation work in the past I imagine getting a proper translation might be difficult especially in older languages. Third you have to have faith in the translator. And finally becausethese are difficult, subtle, and elegant languages which are an art in and of themselves (for example I see kanji butchered constantly, elements completely out of proportion, brush stroke order incorrect...).

If you choose to get it in another language, Sanskrit would make more sense as you were in Tibet. It'll also probably be the easier of the two to get translated. You are unlikely to find a translator here though. You should try a language forum.

But again, it's yours... You can do whatever you want.

federica

The quotation is originally English.
The author is the great writer, Robert Louis Stevenson, who amongst many things, wrote Treasure Island.
The correct quotation, is:

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive"

His epitaph makes me cry.

Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie;
Glad did I live, and gladly die
and I laid me down with a will.

This be the verse you 'grave for me:
"Here he lies, where he long'd to be.
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter, home from the hill "

The last three lines are indeed, engraved on his tombstone.

He is buried at the top of Mount Vaea above his home on Samoa.

if you're really interested in accuracy and authenticity, then this is about as accurate and authentic as you can get.

fcs116

Thank you federica, that is absolutely perfect information.