I'm a Soto Zen priest here in the states, and in my lineage the requirements for ordination is a minimum of ten years training. We also sew all of our vestments- rakusu and Okesa by hand. Thousands of stitches. My blood, sweat and tears- my life itself- are quite literally sewn into all of my robes. The insta-spirituality and Mcmindfulness phenomenon has been the same headache in many of the same ways. Sure, real practice is "accessible" and available now more than ever, but there's just no fast track or hack to authenticity. They can cry in the comments and call it gatekeeping until they turn blue, but what we're really doing is honoring and protecting lineage. So, yeah. Keep the surfing Oni on the t-shirt. Great insight as always 🙏🏼
You know the tune.... Got to pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues, And you know it don't come easy. You don't have to shout or leap about, You can even play them easy. Forget about the past and all your sorrows, The future won't last, It will soon be over tomorrow. Keep on rocking brother.
I think paying your dues is a must, generations before us have paved the way for todays tattoo artist's. there is something primal and deeply personal about tattooing, especially when people trust you with big projects, you get to know them on a certain level, which most people outside of family and close friends will never experience. I feel like social media doesnt paint a realistic picture of what tattooing is. Its a tough journey to get a big piece done but all you see most of the time is the end result and not the grind and hours it took to build that piece.
I think people meaning customers and tattooers lost the natural world of tattooing when technology took over … I was a product of that era and even I’m still struggling to this day as far adapting and so on … I’ve realized it isn’t for me ! After 13 years of just monotonous digital drawing … so all in all I’m still paying my dues learning constantly!
Great insight, can’t agree more! I love gatekeepers, I love traditional anything, keep your style for yourself. Fuck giving in to this younger generation, any craft or skill should be hard earned. The “edge” in life is gone and it’s to bad it’ll never come back!
I'm a Soto Zen priest here in the states, and in my lineage the requirements for ordination is a minimum of ten years training. We also sew all of our vestments- rakusu and Okesa by hand. Thousands of stitches. My blood, sweat and tears- my life itself- are quite literally sewn into all of my robes. The insta-spirituality and Mcmindfulness phenomenon has been the same headache in many of the same ways. Sure, real practice is "accessible" and available now more than ever, but there's just no fast track or hack to authenticity. They can cry in the comments and call it gatekeeping until they turn blue, but what we're really doing is honoring and protecting lineage. So, yeah. Keep the surfing Oni on the t-shirt. Great insight as always 🙏🏼
Awesome, thank you for your comment and insights!!
You know the tune....
Got to pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues,
And you know it don't come easy.
You don't have to shout or leap about,
You can even play them easy.
Forget about the past and all your sorrows,
The future won't last,
It will soon be over tomorrow.
Keep on rocking brother.
Amazing !!
I think paying your dues is a must, generations before us have paved the way for todays tattoo artist's. there is something primal and deeply personal about tattooing, especially when people trust you with big projects, you get to know them on a certain level, which most people outside of family and close friends will never experience.
I feel like social media doesnt paint a realistic picture of what tattooing is.
Its a tough journey to get a big piece done but all you see most of the time is the end result and not the grind and hours it took to build that piece.
Very true words.. would
Be a good topic to explore!
Truth!
I think people meaning customers and tattooers lost the natural world of tattooing when technology took over … I was a product of that era and even I’m still struggling to this day as far adapting and so on … I’ve realized it isn’t for me ! After 13 years of just monotonous digital drawing … so all in all I’m still paying my dues learning constantly!
Great insight, can’t agree more! I love gatekeepers, I love traditional anything, keep your style for yourself. Fuck giving in to this younger generation, any craft or skill should be hard earned. The “edge” in life is gone and it’s to bad it’ll never come back!