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Swastika Tattoo.
Ethan_McCune
Explorer
I was thinking about getting a Swastika tattoo on my chest (and possibly my hands and feet) like the Buddha. I have a few problems, though. 1. Would people mistake it for the Nazi symbol? 2. Could I get hired if I had Swastikas on my hands where people could see it? 3. Would getting tattoos demonstrate attachment to my own body? Thank you.
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Comments
Unless you live in a Buddhist country of course.
There are lots of choices that won't be so upsetting for people.
What do you think?
2. nope. and in japan especially they are taboo (tattoos = yakuza)
3. up to you (no clever japan related info available)
Good choice. Then if someone misinterprets it they will think you are a sailor. Which is awesome.
3. Tattoos in a Buddhist view would be a type of austerity, since as I understand it, it hurts to get them. And they are magic charms in SE Asia (Angelina Joli has on her back a Buddhist themed magic charm tattoo).
Attachments-- think a good way to consider attachment is, are you at peace with the idea of both having and not having a tattoo-- if yes-- then that's the best position to be in. The next part is being at peace with the idea that the fun of getting a tattoo will arise and dissipate and being at peace with that is a good position to be in. Even a monk with just the 8 requisites (the max # items a monk is allowed to own) could get attached to those things, so where to draw the line? Better to have a healthy relationship with the goods and services you consume than to vow to consume nothing, or some arbitrary small amount.
Also, I'm reading a bunch of vajrayana stuff, and they constant talk about "body, speech and mind," Shingon especially sees these as the key to Enlightenment. So if putting speech (symbols) on your body is what is called for, why not transform the experience into the power & energy to move you to enlightenment.
I have a swastika tattoo on my ankle, very small, that I did myself with a needle and a bottle of ink I stole from art class when I was 14. I still mean to cover it up, and I find myself having to cover it whenever I am not wearing socks. It's quite embarrassing. Despite my knowing what it means, no one else does and it rightly horrifies them and causes them to misjudge me (again, rightly).
My sister has the wheel on her elbow. It looks amazing (though I might not recommend the location...YOUCH).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120586/
You might consider Buddha branding?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-490283/Forget-tattoos-branding-hottest-new-trend.html
You know what they say no pain, no game . . . eh wait a minute . . . is that right . . .
You could just get Buddhist clothing. After all it is what is on the outside that counts . . . eh wait . . . might have made a mistake . . .
http://img3.buyincoins.com/gallery2/lc/27073/27073_03.jpg
To me, tattoos are artistic outward expressions of an internal commitment. They are a form of art and a form of expression.
A swastika tattoo? Don't think it's a good idea any way you look at it.
"Oh" sez one girl, "I didn't know the Buddha was a Nazi".... And she was serious, too.
So I - speaking as one who has 8 tattoos - would advise against it.
http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/symbols/swastika.htm
The wheel with 8 spokes is the oldest symbol in Buddhism... in fact before the Greek influence when there were no statues of the Buddha(oh what a great time that would of been, damn greeks :P), the wheel inside a foot was the symbol for the buddha like so:
How about this for a tat?
or this
Brb, checking...
Yes, it can face either way. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika#Geometry Note the comment about the Nazi "through and through" design. I for one would not wear or display a swastika no matter how auspicious, because I sport the "Mr. Clean" look... clean-shaven face and shaved head. I'm sure I'd get the shit kicked out of me. Or I'd attract every neo-Nazi as a friend like flies to dog shit. :eek:
Comments :
My daughter: that is a girls hat dad.
My father in law: viva le resistance ( he is ww2 survivor)
My friend: you look like Che Guevara .... You commie.
Random person: are you,in the military.
My wife: I'm going to buy you another hat.
Many things have meaning to someone else which we can not anticipate. I knew I was being provocative by wearing the beret. I also knew I could leave it at home.
Perhaps try a henna tattoo first and see the reactions.
My son is 14 at 12 he asked me if he could get a tat, I said you can do what you like when you are an adult.....however if you had asked me if you could have a tat when you were 6 what was your favorite thing?
He answered 'Thomas the tank engine' I said 'how would you feel about that tattoo now?' ..his reaction was obvious. Time changes everything, but I think each to their own, just putting in my two pence worth
When I was hiring teachers, administrators, cafeteria workers, custodians, counselors, my only tools were a resume/introductory letter, reference calls, the interview, and my intuition.
The introductory letter was usually a waste of paper and ink. Totally meaningless.
The resume was of limited usefulness. You never knew who actually created it. It often told too little. And few resumes could be accepted at face value; a resume with no fudging was a rarity.
Reference calls were notoriously unpredictable. Was the candidate and the referrer close friends or professional in their relationship? Was the referrer honest, or too worried about legal ramifications of being honest? Was the referrer honest or one of those people who only says nice things about other people? Was the referrer being straight forward or speaking in code?
The interview can be just as unreliable as any of the other tools. Most candidates know -- or think they know -- how to give the right answer to most questions, rather than giving the honest answer. I used to enjoy flummoxing candidates by having them sit down, after which I would say, "Okay, you've got 30 minutes to persuade me why you are the best candidate for this position. I will intervene with questions based on what you tell me. Go ahead."
And my last tool was my tuition. What did the way they dressed tell me about them? Their haircut? The way they sat in the chair? Etc. And yes, tattoos. How do I mix all these things -- from the introductory letter to the persona together to figure out who this person is and how well they will do the job...in less than an hour?
If they have religious tattoos, does that increase the chances that I am going to have a problem with them proselytizing to students? Or what is the message that their tattoos send out.
When I decided to apply for the principalship, they assinged an acting principal to our school, and he liked me and thought I was right for the job. 2 weeks before the panel interview (which would be made up of 2 teachers at our school, 2 parents at our school, and 4 educators I might or might know from other local schools), the acting principal called me in and tutored me on how to successfully obtain the job. "When you walk in that door, everything they see and hear is going to tell them who you really are. From the top of your head to the toe of your shoes. First, the night before the interview, get an expensive haircut and a professional shoe shine. Tomorrow go out and buy a $300-$500 suit; I'll make an appointment for you with a salesperson I know, and we'll have him select the right tie and shirt for the suit you select. Rehearse, in advance, your answers to the most common first and last questions (which most often are, "Tell us a little about yourself" and "Is there anything else that you would like to share with us today?"); and if you get that last question emphasize anything that hasn't come up in the interview that you think should have, and briefly emphasize the most important points of the interview, based on their questions. And make a list of questions that might come up throughout the interview, and practice potential answers that are about 3 minutes in length. Be honest in your presentation, but remember that you will be playing a role -- the man who will represent your school to students, to parents, to other educators, and possibly to local, state, and federal politicians. This won't really be an interview. This will be an audition."
So I took all of his advice, and I already knew who my local competition was (and some of them would be tough)...and knew there would also be outside competition. And I already knew that one of our teachers on the panel would vote against me, and one of the parents from our PTA was questionable. And when I walked in that interview room and faced the 8-member panel, I played the part of who was going to represent our school to the world.
And the next day back at school, the teacher I knew would vote against me came in and said, "When you walked in to that room with that suit, along with the way you presented yourself, I thought Vince is stepping up to the plate. You got my vote!"
Everything of choice about you, tells something about you in an interview.
Most visitors were shocked to run into Nazi Buddhist monks.
If that was the reaction from visiting Buddhists, imagine how the world will respond.
You might as well accept that it represents the Boogey man of this century to most people..
Move on.
The head of darkzen seems to be a weird Arayan supremacist if this is your way.
Not for me, too many lies, bigotry and hatred.
http://www.darkzen.org/
I have a better feeling about the swastika after my efforts but even so, it has not been fully reclaimed . . .
But fortunately, we won - yeah! So who are we alienating and putting in the ring for sport as kitten fodder?
Valknut
http://royals.sca-caid.org/inc/59/valknut.gif
Namaste,
Raven
From what I can piece together for your post, not only does is sound like you practice a form of discrimination, but you also have found a way to justify it as well.
I'm not disagreeing with you. It exists. People do it. But I am calling it for what it is. Judging somebody because of their appearance is discrimination. Not too far away from profiling.
I'm not sure about the laws where you come from, but I know in Canada, if you could prove you weren't hired because of a visible tattoo, it's illegal. (Granted, it'd be hard to prove. But I guess that's the out, isn't it).
I think we're going to have to agree to disagree.
Mettha
So, if you were hiring a teacher to work with children, your top choice would be a person with gang tattoos and/or swastika tattoos?
Education is about going beyond our preconceptions, sensibilities and negative associations. One day 'my little pony' will be seen as the evil suppressor of young girls reality it really is.
What is that Mr Cushion? Can you play with Barbie? Ask your teacher, that faceless bum.
. . . and now back to the claimants . . .
http://www.viralnova.com/biker-gets-judged/