What is a Sacred Yant?
What is a Yant? A Yant is a Sacred geometry design incorporating Buddhist psalms and magical formulas that invoke various elements and powers of protection and various blessings.The Buddhist psalms written within and around these yant are know inThai language as “kata”. A kata is what we might call in thhe West a “Mantra”; the word Mantra, is a Sanskrit word meaning “prayer”. The casting of a magic spell is similar to the recitation of a Mantra in the sense that the concept of invokation/evocation is inflected inorder to acheive a certain result.
The ancient tradition of tattooing Sacred Yant is probably at least one to two thousand years old.The oldest definite historical evidence of sak yant being practised in Thailand dates back to around the times of King Naresuan Maharaj,aroundthe time that the kingdom of Ayuttaya was still in it’s golden age.The warriors were tattooed with Yant and also wore “Suea yant” (yant shirts, that had protective designs intended to ward off the blows of sharp weapons inscribed all over the surface). The Yant designs themselves are not the only element necessary to enable the magic power belived to be contained within these sacred geometrical designs.The casting of the “Kata” (called “Bpug Sek Kata” in Thai), is also considered essential in order to activate the magic power within the Yant. This is done by entering “Samadhi” and visualizing the necesary elements that should be active in the Yant. It is considered necessary for the person performing (and the person receiving too) to have “Sin Haa” (five precepts), which are the five basic precepts for all Buddhists to live their lives by. This minimum level of purity should prevent the Yant falling into entropy (called “Sueam” – เสื่อม in Thai).
THE DESIGN PANTHEON
The amount of designs to be found in Thailand’s sak yant offices aremany, and differ from “samnak” to “samnak” (from master’s office tomaster’s office).
A general selection of the most common yant to be found tattooed on most devotees is documented here in this section.
Yant Gao Yord/Jeesip Yord
Gao Yord (meaning nine spires/peaks), is normally the first Yant torecieve as a tattoo.For this reason it is also known as “Yant Kruu”,meaning “master yant” or “teacher Yant”.Reason being that this is thetattoo that permits you to enter into the lineage of masters, after which you are a disciple and entitled to recieve further yant with theprotection of Yant Kruu.Yant gao Yord represents the nine peaks of Mount Meru, the sacredmountai with four Continents at the center of the Universe.Usually tattooed on the nape of the neck, it is then normally followed by “Jee Sip Yord” (20 peaks), a series of twenty buddha images with small spires pointing upwards.
These spires are known as “Unalome” and represent the crown of theArhants (Enlightened Saints), the spiral stands for the crown at the center of the scalp, and the straight line pointing upwards, representing the straight path to Enlightenment without any wavering behaviour, that the Arhants have accomplished.
There are several different versions of Gao Yord, depending on theMaster who makes it.The “kata” (mantras) differ in content.Someversions have the lettering contained within a magic square of boxes,whereas some are constructed entirely of lettering.
Please Visit Spencer’s other Blog the Ramakian Tales on Dharmathai Buddhism Portal – many characters tattooed in sak yant are also in the Thai Ramakian epic too, so you might learn something there about some of the characters portrayed in sak yant.
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Common Designs to be seen often tattooed on the back
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