Sak Yant 108 -
Buddhist Temple Tattoos
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sakyant Thai Temple Tattoos, Khmer Tattoos
SakYant; สักยันต์ Sak - meaning "to tap" or, "to tattoo", and
Yant,
meaning "Yantra".
Originally derived from the Sanskrit word "YANTRA", meaning sacred
geometrical design. Whatever the case, sakyant, Sacred Yant,
Yantra, or Yan,
however you prefer to call them, have existed since long before the
Buddhist Era, dating back to pre Hindu times.The Yant presented on the
main homepages are not necessarily just for tattooing; The website was
originally inspired by the tattooing of these sacred Buddhist Yantras,
but the art of Yant magick is applied to many other mediums too.The
author wishes visitors to not get the idea that one can obtain any of
the Yant presented on this website as a tattoo, or "Sak Yant, as it has
come to be known".Some Yant are designed for other purposes, such as
inscription on amulets such as "Thagrud" (rolled metal tubes with yant
and sanskrit prayers inscribed on them) and "Pha Yant" (cloth yantras).
The Yant which one can obtain as tattoos can be found on the galleries
of the YANTPEDIA - Yantpedia is the online forum and image galleries
for members to communicate and share their info and experiences and
knowledge of Sak yant, amulets, & kata (mantras) with each other
A "Sakyant" tattoo is the general way that a "Farang" (westerners are referred to as such in Thailand), uses when referring to one of these Sacred Buddhist Yantra tattoos: this is actually wrong, because the tattoo simply called a "Yant (ยันต์)" in Thai. So, when going for Sak Yant from one's master, one should not say "I'm going to get another sakyan tattoo"!. One should say; "I am going to recieve another Yant.
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LATEST UPDATES TO SAK YANT
Wat Bang Pra Temple 108 Ruesi - the legend begins Sak Yant is being redesigned - if you wish to view the old homepage please click here
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 Ajarn Thoy. Download and print the visiting
card above and give it to the taxi driver to get there.
Please phone to check if they are present as some days they are busy
with other matters.Ajarn Thoy, otherwise known as the living medium for
a manifestation of the ancient ascetic Por Gae Ruesi thai fai from over
1000 years ago, is located at Wat Tong nai temple (see below pics). Wat
Tong Nai is the hom of the Buddha image "Hlwong Por Paetch", discovered
whilst constructing the temple, it is believed to stem from the U Tong
period of Thailand's history. please remember if you visit Por Gae for
recieving sakyant, that you should visit the shrine for Hlwong Por
Paetch first and pay tour respects.One should always bow to the Buddha
before bowing to a human.
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Spencer shall be posting his mobile number here soon so you can make
enquiries about visiting in English.
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- Legend has it, that the Father of Yant magic were the 'Ruesi'; a kind of hermit/sorceror, living in the depths of the forest,Studying spells and practising their magic. These Ruesi existed a long time before Buddhism existed. They are often mentioned in the Thai Ramakiarn (a version of the Hindu Ramayana Epic Myth), and are usually depicted holding a black slate and chalk, with a Yant design inscribed on the slate. The Ruesii wore long hats; and normally had long wispy beards.There are so many Ruesi stories, such as the ones told in the 'Hnang Thalung' shadow puppet theatre in Southern Thailand.Kings, Emperors and Political leaders normally had a Ruesi as their advisor, rather like the Court magician in Mediaeval times here in the Western world The Ruesii was also responsible for creating the Magic Book of power so treasured by the Hindu Gods, known as Thrai Paet, or Thrai Waet; meaning Three Sciences, or Three Magics. This book was the theme for several stories in the Ramakiarn Epic.
- Neighbouring Khmer (Cambodia), has always had a reputation for it's Shamanistic magic and Sorcery. The use of Magic Yantras, and Sacred Alphabet to write them with (Known as "Khom Agkara") has been common with the Khmer race for thousands of years.
- Local belief in Nature Spirits, Animism and other sub-belief systems have been also incorporated into the Pantheon of yant designs that exist in the Thai Tradition to date.
- The Tradition in Ancient Thailand that Warriors be tattooed in order to make their bodies slippery and hard to grab in battle has caused many Yant tattoo designs to be developed that are intended to protect against penetrative weapons (such as guns, knives etc). Thais believed that if you are covered with yant tattoos, it will make your skin slippery and hard to penetrate with a sharp weapon.
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Where to get Sak Yant Buddhist tattoos
There are many "Samnak Ajarn Sak Yant" ำนัก อาจารย์ สักยันต์
(SakYant Tattooist/Masters offices) in Thailand still, but the most
famous
of these as far as Foreigners are concerned, is the Temple of Wat Bang
Pra in Thambon Bang Gaew Fa on the outskirts of Nakorn
Chaysri town,
Nakorn Phatom Province, near Bangkok.
This is where Spencer approached the monk Hlwong Pi Pant, tattooist Monk, apprenticed to the most famous Yantmaster of all time (deceased 2004), Hlwong Por Phern Tittakunoe (Officially known as Pra Udom Prachaanaat.
Spencer is a Buddhist and Tattooist who has made Thailand his home, and has been visiting Wat Bang Pra Temple as a disciple of Buddhism , but also with extreme interest from the Tattooists point of view."I stumbled upon this Temple in a time of great sadness in my life, I approached my teacher Hlwong Pi Pant at first as a disciple of Buddhism, but was surprised to see that this monk was applying a tattoo to another monk as I arrived there!" "What were these strange designs, and the strange script that was tattooed around the main designs, that were so harmoniously arranged in a strictly defined composition...all elements of these extremely simple, but overwhelmingly powerful symbols flowing together with Supreme harmony?"
"I received one of the Yant tattoos from my Master ;
This first tattoo I recieved was Yant Gao Yord (see foto).
Gao Yord means Nine Peaks, and represents the Nine Peaks Mount Meru;
sacred mountain in the centre of the Universe, with the four Continents
around it.
Before the Yant was applied I paid my respects (Hwai Kru gaeji Ajarn) by bowing to the floor 3 times, palms placed before my forehead between each bow. Then all present grab each other around the waist and I offer the silver tray with all our offerings of ; Orchids, Incense, cigarettes, money in envelopes, and anything else you may wish to offer." "Hlwong Pi Pant proceeded to chant a "Kataa" (Mantra) in Pali Sanskrit (the language the Buddha used to teach his Dharma).
After this, he prepares to take one of
the many "Mai Sak"(tattooing sticks), from a bottle of alcohol which
served as disinfection for the 20 or so instruments in bottles at his
side. I have counted an average of between 30 and 70 tattoos in one day
done by the Master!!!, so this would mean maybe an hour at the most for
an instrument to be in the alcohol bottle.
Then I was told to sit in front of the Hlwong Pi Pant, with my back to
him. The Master takes his "Mai Sak" and places a color cap between his
little finger and ring finger. He then proceeds to draw a grid on my
neck, with squares inside it, and nine buddhas on top of each box. Each
box contains a letter in Ancient "Khom". Khom is the alphabet used to
write the Holy Buddhist Prayers in the skin as a tattoo. The language
is not Thai, it is Pali Sanskrit; But the Lettering is Ancient Khmer,
or Khom, as the Thais call it. The Yant I received is called Gao Yord,
and means Nine Peaks (gipfel) meaning the peaks of Mount Meru (sacred
mountain in the centre of Buddha Realm)."
"On completion of the Tattoo, Hlwong Pi Pant chants a Kataa, and blows
it into my Yant, the room is silent, and a feeling of well-being and
peace rises inside me." "The mantra says Gu Ti Gu Ya Tha Saa Wae Taa
Saa Gu, and is not a phrase as such, rather use of syllables to
represent certain elements involved with Buddha magic." "I became so
involved with this Topic, that I finally asked Hlwong Pi Pant if I
could learn about this," "being a Buddhist and also Tattooist had given
me the idea that this may be something I could learn about."
"Hlwong Pi Pant was ok on this, but seemed sceptical that I could do
it, my Thai was not so good back then, and so he said I should ask
again when my Thai was better." "In the meantime, I managed to find an
extremely rare book, called Yant 108, written by a former Head of the
Thailand Brahmin Order; Pra Ratchakru Taepawamuni
"Whilst studying Thai reading and writing, and learning about
how to
draw, and invoke the 108 Yant designs from this gem of a Literary work,
I was introduced into the methods for reading Khom letters too, as the
Yant 108 book teaches it as the first necessary step to be able to make
yant designs according to the traditional methods."
"Each yant has it's own particular Mantra Prayer, and there are strict
rules about ?the way you draw each Yant. For example, when inscribing a
Yant on Parchment, or Cloth, you may not lift the writing instrument
from the surface whilst drawing the outline..it must all be done with a
continuous line!"
"How is this possible? Well most of the yant make this possible through
the use of knot work like loops for directional changes in the
outline.So it is possible to draw the whole design in one throw, ending
where you began, without having lifted your pen from the paper."
"As for the Hand Tattooing of Yant in Thai Temples ; The Tattooing
method does not permit the continuous tattooing without lifting the
instrument of course, so this rule is obviously not applied as far as
Tattooing of Yant is concerned."
"After long months locked in the back of my tattoo studio on the island
of Koh Lanta studying the Khom script and practising drawing the Yant,
I returned to the Temple to let Hlwong Pi Pant check up on me, I was
afraid of getting something important wrong, so I needed his he"He was
extremely pleased with my studies, and said I should go ahead and
practise Sak Yant ..So I did!..Both with machine, and with the Hand
Instrument he gave me (put through the autoclave of course). After
trying a few with the hand instrument, I returned quickly to the
Temple, to pay even greater respect to Hlwong Pi Pant. I say even
greater respect, because , although it is common knowledge that Thais
like to take the difficult approach to doing something, well I never
knew their choice of method for hand tattooing is the HARDEST I have
ever encountered.!!!"
I really had to take my hat off to the Master when I think of writing
Pali Sanskrit in tiny letters that wind round in circles upside down,
backwards , every direction! And you have this pole with two spike
filed off the split end . The pole is nearly a meter long, and you are
supposed to hold it between ?the thumb and forefinger of your
outstretched, palm upwards hand.!"
Till now I have managed to decipher the secrets of many many Yant
designs, and can design most of them myself. As far as the hand
tattooing methods of Yant Tattoo, I must say I am still progressing,
you don't get a tattoo like this every day" Before I ever made a Yant,
I went to The Abbot of Wat bang Pra, to ask permission to do this; He
was kind enough to say yes, if not I should not have considered doing
it.
