Today I had a wetsuit-less late morning surf and a gentle older woman whom I often see out there often asked me what the tattoo on my foot meant.

I have tattoos on both feet, but I figured she was referring to my right foot,  which has Pali writing (looks like Sanskrit).   It’s a mantra from a class of Buddhist wisdom scriptures, taken specifically from the end of the Heart Sutra.  It’s articulated, “Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā.”

The quickest translation I can attempt is ‘Gone. Gone. Gone beyond. Beyond the shore beyond the shore.  Gone utterly beyond.’

Now, I am no Sanskrit nor academic scholar by any means.

However, once I got serious about meditation as a practice woven into the fabric of my existence, I encountered this line during sesshins/silent meditation retreats.  It is often chanted at the closing of the day, and every time I say it, I feel a potency. It serves as a powerful reminder.  Years ago I decided to get it put on my foot as foundational reminder of walking in the world with right mind, right speech, right action.

Explaining this to people is a whole different thing that I hadn’t really anticipated. 

When I’ve been asked about it I’ve found a response with too much context causes eyes to gloss over quickly.  So, I sometimes say it’s a mantra from the Heart Sutra. I sometimes just say ‘it’s a reminder’.

For context, I once heard Ram Dass define the word ‘mantra’ as a ‘mind protectant.’  As in, a phrase or word which assists in protecting the mind from the trap of tendencies and patterns that are less than conscious.

This morning, when the lady asked me what it meant and I’d shared a summarized version of the context above, she looked at me like I hadn’t really answered.  So I followed it up by saying, “it means ‘it’s only temporary.’”

We both laughed. I found a lot of amusement in her amusement.

So…

Here’s to smiling.

Here’s to the truest freedom there is.

Here’s to the liberation from delusive bullshit that requires your participation to exist.

Here’s the swimming with bow-legged women.