On NBC’s Last Comic Standing, the gruff Mike DeStefano, a seasoned comic, has become an audience favorite. And actually, it’s clear that the comedian’s persona is just that — a persona; at heart he’s a big softy and a family kind of guy. He’s also a former addict celebrating more than a dozen years in recovery.

Buddhism, clearly, plays a part in all this (though DeStefano identifies himself primarily as a practitioner of “recovery comedy”). Last night on the show viewers saw Mike’s monster Buddha tattoo (shown here) and also heard a joke that I imagine we’ll be hearing people repeat for a while:

“I went to a Chinese restaurant… They had a suggestion box, so I wrote ‘Free Tibet’.”

(It’s not “What did the Buddhist say to the hot dog vendor?*” but, hey, not bad, Mike.)

Other evidence of Mike’s interest in Buddhism? His new comedy album is called OK Karma. And here’s the cover (left).

He’s also written a book entitled Bada Bing Bada Budda.

Check out Mike online, here.

Update: click here to check out DeStefano’s contribution to the (true) storytelling podcast, the program, titled “The Junkie and the Monk.” It’ll give you a taste of Mike’s personality and background and — while it’s seriously rough stuff at times — it’ll make you laugh. You’re gonna like this guy.

(* “Make me one with everything.”)

Heidiminx — the very model of the punk-rock dharma activist — rules. But you knew that, right? Well, if you didn’t, check out her new video, “Tattoos and Tibetan Ex-political Prisoners.”  In it, she interviews a member of the Tibetan ex-political prisoners association, GuChuSum.

As Heidiminx writes, “While there are numerous sites and TV shows dedicated to the meanings of tattoos, the tattoos of Tibet’s ex-political prisoners have not been well documented. Their experiences are crucial to understand the human rights violations China commits on a daily basis.”

Support and follow Heidiminx’s work here. And visit GuChuSum here.

The tattoo in question, via farm4.static.flickr.com

Sports site TSN reports that:

“English welterweight Dan (The Outlaw) Hardy’s stomach tattoo was airbrushed out of the UFC 111 fight poster because it is ‘anti-Chinese government stuff,’ according to UFC president Dana White.

‘”I’m trying to get into China,” he told fans at a question-and-answer session Tuesday. ‘I don’t need anti-Chinese government stuff on my fighters.’

“Hardy, however, says the tattoo — the fighter’s favourite — is a Tibetan Buddhist prayer written in Sanskrit.

‘”It’s basically just like a prayer for focus,’ Hardy said. ‘It keeps me walking the path that I should be walking without veering off and distracting myself.’

“Apprised of that explanation, White said: ‘That’s not what I heard.’

[...] “‘I heard that it was anti-Chinese government, so I ripped that thing off it. I’m not going to put him on a poster with anti-Chinese government writing on it when we’re trying to get into China. . . . I don’t know what this stuff means, so I’ve got to be safe.’

But, as the MMA site Bloody Elbow (nice name, that) points out:

“The tattoo is the well known Buddhist mantra “Om mani padme hum” which has no political significance in relation to China.”

Well, not quite no political significance.  While the tattoo isn’t an overt anti-China statement, China sure is sensitive to hearing about Tibetan Buddhism. Some, like Robert Thurman, would even go so far as to say that the Chinese government is trying ‘re trying to, um, airbrush it away.

You may likely have heard by now that John Daido Loori, the founder of the Mountain and Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism has died. He will be missed.

The NY Times published an obit. There are so many things one could say about Daido, and they’ll be said by people far better than me. (The MRO’s mini-site in tribute to Daido does a beautiful job.) That being said, I did want to share this tidbit, being that we talk about Buddhism and tattoos here a good deal. From the Times obit:

Zen Buddhist elders nearly prevented Abbot Loori’s ordination as a monk, after seeing a tattoo peeking from his robe. A Navy souvenir, it depicted an innocent-enough anchor, but Japanese associate tattoos with criminals, and Abbot Loori refused to erase his past.

The ordination finally went ahead. But the abbot wore a bandage over the tattoo when he visited Japan, Newsday reported in 2004.

“I think they were a bit puzzled when I returned year after year and the burn still hadn’t healed,” he said.

Anyway, here’s to Daido, and here’s to not erasing the past.

From the mighty Konchog Norbu, who snapped this pic on his recent trip stateside:

“I was visiting my nephew at Clark University in Worcester when I came across this sticker [it reads "bodyartforms.com"] on a beat-up car and snapped a pic for you. Who knew the Laughing Buddha was into body mod?”

Well, goodness knows, plenty of Worst Horses are…

Thanks as always, Konchog!

Thanks to reader Dr. Marc W., who sends this ‘Burger. He writes:

“Saw this at whole foods today.  I guess organic karma is considered good karma, right?”

A good question indeed…  so good it seems we ask some variation of it here almost constantly, never arriving at any one solid answer. Such is life, and that’s great.

(See the post immediately below for a taste of how the One City folks are talking about a similar question…)

The Good Doctor also sends on this letter about and photo of his new dharma-tattoo:

If the site is great, it’s because of submissions like these. So thank you, Marc, and everyone else who sends stuff in. There’s been a lot lately, so keep your eyes here for more.

Reader Amanda T. sends this photo and writeup of her beautiful tattoo:

“This is my only tattoo. I got it right after I took the bar exam. I’d been in school non-stop since I started — K through law school, as they say — so that was a huge transition point for me. I’d thought about getting some kind of dharma wheel tattoo for quite some time to have a constant reminder of my commitment to the Eightfold Path, and I felt like that time of transition was a perfect time to reaffirm my commitment to this path in my ‘new’ life as a lawyer.

“The symbolism of flowers is something I’ve also found important in my practice, and at some point I got the idea to combine the dharma wheel with a flower, and I found the combination of the strength of the traditional wheel with the impermanent but always-renewing beauty of a flower to be powerful.

“Karen Slafter at Resurrection Tattoo in Austin, TX did my tattoo. She’s a fellow Dharma Punk and all around awesome person.”

Thanks for sending it, Amanda!

According to this roundup of new celebrity tattoos on Huffington Post, celebrity spawn Rumer Willis has seen fit to ink herself with the message “be present,” in what appears to be a sort of faux-Tibetan script.

Admittedly, this isn’t particularly fascinating. I just wanted to be the first person ever to write the phrase “sideboob Dharma.”

…by the way, the “Buddhist Celebrities” site (sort of a blog version of the list we first told you about on the Link-O-Pedia) has been updated before a “short break.”

This one — originally posted on our old, now-defunct blog — is from previous “Body Vows” contributor Gerry Gomez, who shot the photo. Maybe it’ll be new to you:

“[It's] OM MANI PADME HUM, [the mantra of Chenrezig, the bodhisattva of compassion] on my friend Trevor’s arm.

“Tattoo by Pablo Sela of Iron Cross Tattoo, Santa Barbara, CA.”

Great ink. Nice shot, too. Thanks, Gerry!