Buddhist Tattoos: A New Trend in Singapore

Singapore (CHAKRA) – When Ben Loke wanted to boost his luck with financial prospects, he did not turn to hi banker or broker but instead the 35-year-old went to a professional tattoo shop to ink on his back a “sak yant” religious symbol in hopes of wealth and happiness.

 “I’m a Buddhist, and the scriptures that are being tattooed on my back will give me some protection,” he said, as he prepared for the needle to be wielded by a visiting Thai expert.

The form of tattooing called sak yant originated in Thailand and is gaining popularity in Singapore, a predominantly ethnic Chinese city-state with strong Buddhist and Taoist history and traditions.

Sak yant tattoos are mainly various inscriptions of animals, deity figures, and inscriptions of religious texts, believed by Buddhist to bring luck, good fortune, self-confidence and courage.

This is Loke’s second sak yant tattoo and it is placed beneath a dragon which is surrounded by lines of Buddhist religious text.

Tattoos which were initially associated with gangsters have now come a long way in Singapore.  They are a form of expressions of individuality, invitation to divine assistance, or merely a fashion statement.

Fo Guang Hang, a company specializing in sak yan tattoos, run by Willie Heng, happily welcomed this new trend of sak yant tattoos.

 “Sak yant is now widely embraced by the general population because of people’s need for a form of spiritual support, aided by the social acceptance of tattoos,” he stated at a recent tattoo convention in Singapore.

More than 300 tattoo artists from all around the world, including Chris Garver, from the hit television series Miami Ink, attended the Singapore Tat2 Show 2010.

Ajahn Thong, 60, Fo Guang Hang’s specialist was the one who drew the most attention at the tattoo convention.

“Business was so good that Thong, a Thai sak yant “grandmaster” who flew to Singapore for the show, had to extend his stay after the event to attend to all his customers,” Heng said.

Many of Fo Guang’s clients are businessmen looking for some luck, while a few others just get tattoos for show, Heng said.

“They come for luck,” he added.

Christopher Tan, a 28-year-old owner of a sak yant tattoo shop called Siam Ink, said he had customers of all ages  and diverse backgrounds.

“I got students, bankers, office ladies, PR girls, all kinds of job scope,” he said. He added that the tattoos provide “spiritual support” during hard times.

“Singapore has a lot of Chinese Buddhists, and many of them believe in this,” said Thong from Thailand.

Tattooists stated that generally people fly in from all over the world because they are attracted to sak yant beliefs.

“I got a power punch and a speed tattoo, and it’s spiritually based to help you not just with your fighting, but with your living,” said Badr Fyrkree, an amateur muay Thai boxing practitioner.  He travelled all the way from the United Arab Emirates to get his tattoo.