From History of Siddham

One origin or many? Did writing begin in one area and then spread to other countries or did the great writing systems—Sumerian, Egyptian, Cretan, Hittite, Indic, Chinese—arise independently? Western scholars surmise that an alphabet first appeared among a Semitic people, perhaps the Assyrians or Hebrews; the Hindus maintain that the source of writing lies in mother India; the Chinese assert that their written characters are the oldest, the best, and the most beautiful. The problem of the origin of writing is unlikely to be solved since the necessary clues are lost in antiquity.

All ancient systems, however, hold one idea in common: writing is divine, inherently holy, with powers to teach the highest mysteries; writing is the speech of the gods, the ideal form of beauty. The Egyptians were taught writing by Toth, the scribe of the gods, and named their script "the divine"; Jehovah engraved the letters with his finger when he gave the Commandments to the Hebrews; the Assyrian god Nebo revealed the nature of cuneiform to his people; Cangjie, the four-eyed dragon-faced wizard, modeled the Chinese characters after the movements of the stars, the footprints of birds, and other patterns that occurred in nature; and in India the supreme god Brahma himself gave knowledge of letters to men.

During the period 2500–1500 BCE an urban civilization flourished in northwest India, the two most well-known centers being Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.

A large number of steatite (soft stone) seals excavated from these sites depict various animals, symbols, or deities with brief inscriptions across the top. Similar inscriptions were found on stone and copper tablets, pottery, bronze implements, and ivory and bone rods. General use of the script appears to have been discontinued within a few centuries and decipherment remains uncertain (although some modern Indian scholars claim both to have successfully deciphered the script and traced its development into other alphabets, Eastern and Western).

During the second millennium BCE the Aryans, a nomadic warlike people, entered the valley and quickly displaced the indigenous inhabitants. The wandering invaders, who had come to India via Afghanistan from their homeland in the Turkestan, put down roots and established a new civilization.

A sacred tradition known as Veda (knowledge) appeared among these Indo-Aryans. The earliest portion, dating from perhaps 1400–1000 BCE, is the Rig Veda, comprising hymns (sukta) to the gods. Ritual (Brahmana) and philosophical (Upanisad) texts evolved somewhat later. The Vedas were said to have been "heard" rather than composed by the Aryan seers; that is, they are authorless. Despite the fact that Brahma had inscribed the holy text on leaves of gold, the authority of Sanskrit, the language of the Vedas, lies principally in proper recitation and oral communication—"Things from books are not as good as things from the living and abiding voice." The grammar of Panini (c. 400 BCE), which defined the classical language, was to be memorized after hearing its recitation from an instructor. Samskrta means that which is perfectly constructed, cultivated.

The holy script Brahmi-lipi was utilized sparingly, if at all, until the advent of Buddhism and, to a lesser extent, Jainism. Buddha (c. 565–486 BCE) insisted that his teaching be given to all people in their own languages. Emperor Asoka the Great (273–236 BCE) took this precept to heart after finding refuge in the Three Jewels. He constructed pillars all over the land announcing his conversion and the glories of the Buddhist Law. The edicts are in a vernacular Prakrt, most in Brahmi script with some in Kharosthi—a syllabic script in Aramaic style, probably introduced from Persia—and a few in Aramaic and Greek. These inscriptions are generally considered to be the oldest extant examples of Indian script. Asoka's efforts established writing as a medium of expression among diverse segments of the population and provided the impetus for the diffusion of the divine alphabet throughout Asia.

Brahmi-lipi is the forerunner of most of the scripts used in India, Tibet, and Southeast Asia. North Indian variants of the Brahmi script gave birth to the Gupta, Siddham, Devanagari, Tibetan, and Khotanese writing systems. From the Tibetan system sprang the Rong (Lepcha) alphabet of Sikkim and the Passepa script used in the Chinese Imperial Chancery of the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368).

Southern forms of Brahmi-lipi inspired the Grantha alphabet, still in use, which in turn developed into the scripts used for the Dravidian languages (Tamil, Malayalam, Telegu). Through the efforts of Buddhist missionaries these scripts were introduced into Southeast Asia, forming the basis of the Khmer, Sinhalese, Mon, Burmese, and Thai writing systems. One exception is the Mongolian alphabet, distinctly Semitic in character, which was derived from the Aramaic alphabet carried to the East by Nestorian monks.

Siddham and Devanagari, the two major scripts, are both derived from the western branch of the Gupta alphabet. The Gupta era (320–647 CE) was the golden age of Indian Buddhism: art reached its classical perfection, great monasteries flourished, and many outstanding literary works were created. In the first days of the Buddhist order few monks knew how to read or write so the teaching was imparted orally. Gradually, as more and more of the canon was committed to writing, literacy became a requirement for the monks.

Buddhist education in the Gupta region began with a primer of twelve chapters which dealt with the letters of the alphabet and the ten thousand combinations of vowels and consonants. Before copying out the letters for the pupils on his writing board, the teacher wrote the word siddham for them to copy. The root of this word is sidh, which means accomplished, successful, perfected, with the connotation of being sacred. The letters themselves are perfect, having been created by Brahma. Alternatively, siddhir-astu (May there be perfection!) or namah sarvajnaya siddham (Homage to the all-knowing. Perfection!) was written at the head of the book or letter-list. Thus the word siddham became synonymous with both the letters and the primer. This primer was to be mastered within six months; then the student moved on to the sutras of Panini (eight months), the Book of Dhatu (three years), and finally the Three Khilas. A reed pen was used to write the letters and manuscripts were written on birch bark or, more commonly, palm leaves (tala). Long strips of tala leaves were treated with a preservative. After being inscribed with the text, the leaves were gathered together, two holes were drilled through them, and they were bound with string. Inscriptions were sometimes made on copper.

The large number of Sanskrit sutras and commentaries introduced into China during this period were mainly in the Siddham script. These texts were quickly translated into Chinese, with emphasis on those themes deemed most suitable for the native mentality. There was comparatively little interest in the correct pronunciation or composition of Sanskrit in China. The written word was more valued than the spoken largely because the great number of dialects in China made oral communication difficult. Hence, more attention was paid to the form of the Siddham letters. Use of the reed pen was abandoned in favor of the Chinese brush or wooden stylus; Siddham script assumed its place in Chinese culture as a special branch of calligraphy. Particular importance was placed on the efficacy of mantras and seed syllables composed in Siddham script and no attempt was made to create original works. Thus, in contrast to the Devanagari of India, Siddham in China and Japan was never used for anything but sacred writing.

Familiarity with the Siddham alphabet led to the formation of the thirty phonetic radicals (zima) of the Chinese language devised by the monk Shouwen. He divided the sounds following the Siddham pattern: labials, languals, gutturals, dentals, and glottals. In addition, between six and seven thousand Sanskrit terms entered the Chinese language. Via China, Siddham was carried to Korea, where it perhaps influenced the development of the Hangul script. It was in Japan, however, that the study and practice of Siddham reached its zenith.

The two men responsible for establishing Siddham in Japan were Saicho (Dengyo-Daishi; 767–822) and Kukai (Kobo-Daishi; 774–835). Both studied in China at approximately the same time (c. 805). Saicho trained at Mt. Tiantai (Tendai), bringing the doctrines of that school with him when he returned to his temple on Mt. Hiei near Kyoto. He taught his disciples the fundamentals of Siddham and encouraged several to continue their studies in China. Kukai was initiated into the mysteries of the True Word (Shingon) school by Huikuo (746–805) and learned Siddham from the Indian monk Prajna (who, it is said, also collaborated with the Christian monk Adam in constructing the Nestorian Stone).

Huikuo's master was the famed Amoghavajra (705–774), a monk from north India who came to China in 720 with his teacher Vajrabodhi (d. 741). Amoghavajra advocated the esoteric use of Siddham mantras and seed syllables. One of the texts he translated, the Usnisa-vijaya-dharani, was especially popular. By imperial decree all monks and nuns were required to recite it twenty-one times a day, and it was printed on prayer sheets and engraved on pillars in the Siddham script throughout the empire. After Amoghavajra's death the True Word school gradually declined in China; the transmission passed to the Japanese monk Kukai.