the TAO of TATTOOING 13

Foreword

In this series of blog entries I will offer my fledgling, humble interpretations of Lao-Tsu's 81 chapters of the Tao te ching, as it applies to tattooing.  I am in no way attempting to represent myself as a master of Taoist philosophy, however Lao-Tsu's teachings have inspired me for several decades, and I often look to them for inspiration in dealing with the many challenges of my chosen profession.
   I intend to find my way through each of the chapters, and compile them here in my blog until they are complete, at which time I will publish them in book form for my friends and colleagues in tattooing. I hope that my interpretations might assist and inspire my peers, my clients, my friends, to better understand tattooing, and the meaningful impact it has on all of our lives.  And if perhaps these interpretations lead anyone back to the original teachings of Lao-Tsu, well then I will have truly done something to enrich the world.

the TAO of TATTOOING

13

Success is as great a danger to a tattooer as failure.

Hope of success is as useless to a tattooer as fear of failure.

How can success be a threat?

Great success will create the condition

of of fearing the loss of that success.

When you choose to live without extravagance,

success and failure loose their power over you.

How can hope of success be a threat?

Hope of sucess arises from thinking of the self.

A tattooer who thinks first of his clients

need not fear failure.

See your clients needs as your own needs.

Trust to the natural order of things.

Cherrish the satisfaction of your clients as your own.

This is how a tattooer will thrive.