Zen circle tattoos - a brushstroke of perfection

Zen circle tattoo on arm (Source).

The circle tattoos zen are those who have a circle of undoubted oriental style as main design. This Circle always appears to have been painted onto the skin and may go alone or accompanied by other elements like kanjis, phrases, bonsai ...

We will see what is the meaning of circle tattoos zen and if we can consider them cultural appropriation.

The meaning of zen circle tattoos

Zen circle tattoo with bonsai (Source).

The zen circle tattoos refer to this circle, also called imperfect circle or enso, which contains everything and nothing at the same time. It is a symbol of Buddhism that it has many meanings and connotations and that it has to be created in a single stroke. Depending on how the circle is, we will know things about the person who has drawn it and their spiritual state at the time of drawing it. For example, if the circle is more open, it can refer to that person is in a moment of growth in his life.

Zen circle tattoo on arm (Source).

But, ultimately, the zen circle is nothing and is everything, since it is a reflection of the whole contained in nothingness at the time it was drawn.

Are zen circle tattoos a cultural appropriation?

For those who don't know, cultural appropriation is when a culture adopts elements of another culture. This, which at first glance does not seem problematic, may be offensive to people of the appropriate culture. An example of cultural misappropriation is wearing religious symbols from another culture as mere talismans, or wearing offensive and stereotypical costumes from other cultures.

Zen circle tattoo with phrase (Source).

Tattoos are no exception. In the same way that there are those who tattoo characters in other languages ​​that they do not understand, the tattooing religious symbols can also easily be considered in bad taste. As the Zen circle is considered a sacred symbol Could we consider cultural appropriation tattooing ourselves? The best advice is that you think about it very long before deciding on this or any other tattoo with religious symbols, and, above all, that it talk to various people from the culture in question before making any decisions.