The third time I saw Ajarns Matthieu and Rung was at their home in Hua Hin, Thailand. Hua Hin was the first beach resort town in Thailand and was especially popular with the Thai Royal Family and is seen as the place where the Thai’s take their holidays, as opposed to the more crowded popular tourist areas for foreigners.
This trip was to complete my left sleeve and the process of selecting which Sak Yants to be inked was overseen by Ajarn Matthieu. Receiving a Sak Yant goes beyond just selecting a design from a book as some of them, depending on your lifestyle, would not be deemed suitable for you. For example, there was a specific design which resonated with me and when I expressed interest in it, I was asked whether I drink alcohol. The reason for this is that for the magical powers of that specific tattoo to work, my body needs to be permanently free of any type of intoxication (this does not apply to all Sak Yants). I could of course have lied to get it but that defeats the purpose of Sak Yant tattoos.
These tattoos are believed to be magical and bestow certain powers on the bearer, for example the crocodile tattoo (Yant Thaerawad Jorakae) protects the bearer from sharp objects, but if I were to be intoxicated in any way and I’m near a body of water then the crocodile spirit may take over my body and lead me to drowning. The little gecko (Yant Jing Jok) is believed to attract friendship and love. Each Sak Yant is believed to have a very specific power but if one does not follow the rules for bearing it then its power would be diminished and even turned against you.