If you were planning to get a tattoo of the Buddha during an upcoming trip to Thailand, you may want to reconsider. Thailand’s Culture Ministry has called on all Thai tattoo parlors to refrain from giving tourists tattoos of the Buddha. The AP reports:

Culture Minister Niphit Intharasombat said in a statement that his ministry has been receiving complaints from residents that tattoo parlors are etching sacred images of Buddha and other religious images onto the skin of non-Buddhist visitors across the country.

“Foreigners see these tattoos as a fashion,” Niphit said in the statement posted on his ministry’s website Thursday. “They do not think of respecting religion, or they may not be aware” that it can be offensive.

The Thai government news agency, NNT, reports that Niphit is pushing for a law that would permanently ban parlors from giving tourists tattoos of the Buddha.

Image courtesy of tattoodream.net

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