Meditation Point #28
A Zen Thing . QuotesThere is no reality except the one contained within us.
That is why so many people live such an unreal life.
They take the images outside of them for reality and
never allow the world within to assert itself.
— Hermann Hesse
This is an interesting quote which I fear most people will not understand, even if it is explained to them! This is true because people do not like to be introspective. Very few people can define themselves, whether in high school or college they feel lost in the masses, not sure of who they are or want to be. This lack of self-confidence and awareness leads to a multitude of sins, most of all the sin of being a follower, one easily led by others. Those who do not buckle to peer pressure typically know who they are and are not looking for group or societal recognition. The next time you go to the Mall (at least in the Northeast) you will see the lost masses, the people who constantly look outward to establish their identity. The body piercing, mutilations, tattoos, and general presentation of people screams of their desire to define themselves as different or to call attention to themselves. There are few exceptions to this rule. I see this as an increasing trend in the martial arts. Look at most tournament posters or ads, predominantly represented is a figure tattooed and tough looking. To me this is no different then watching a prison fight with some added skills. Why do prisoners get tattoos? They do it for one of two reasons, to define themselves thereby affiliating themselves to a group or to make themselves look tough and scary so others will leave them alone. The same can be said for most civilians. I know I will receive a lot of hate mail over this, but bear in mind I don’t care if you have tattoos or body modifications or not. I am not saying there is anything wrong with these things, I am merely observing the culture and mindset surrounding these activities in relation to today’s meditation point. Think of it this way, in the Martial Arts we are supposed to maintain the element of surprise, this is the martial way. How can we surprise our enemy if we display our affiliations all over our body? Who is the more difficult opponent to stand against, one with a dragon tattooed across his chest/arm with several piercing or one with no markings or piercing (“clean cut”)? Which opponent tells you more about themselves by their appearance? Which leaves you wondering what they know and what to expect next?
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Of course culture is a reason, though it is interesting to look at the reason for these cultural adornments π
Good point.
Allthough in asian culture, the body is called too unpure to not carry a tatoo.
Of course it’s not as simple as that. But it’s a good starting point for some research. π
Respectfully.