Siddhaṃ

The article presents the first part of results of the study of a xylograph from Khara-Khoto found by Pyotr Kozlov during the Mongol-Sichuan Expedition (1907—1909). A palaeographical description and approximate dating of the xylograph are given in this article. The author shows that the Sanskrit text of dhāraṇīs written in Siddhaṃ script is a backward reconstruction made from Chinese Buddhist incantations written by Chinese characters. The article points out commonly occurring errors in this reconstruction. The transliteration of the dhāraṇīs text is given.

As an interesting example of how Sanskrit versification appeared in the material relating to Northern Chán, let us take a look at a text presented as a mixture of prose and Sanskrit verse in transliteration. The text in question is the Fóshuō Lèngqié jīng chánmén xītán zhāng 佛說楞伽經禪門悉談章 (The Siddhaṁ Chapter of the Gate of Chán [according to] the Laṅkavatāra Sūtra Expounded by the Buddha; hereafter Siddhaṁ Song) of which several copies have been identified. It is ascribed to the previously unknown Chán master Dìnghuì 定惠, who is variously said to have hailed from Dàxīngshān Monastery 大興善寺 in Luòyáng and from Huìshàn Monastery 會善寺 on Mt. Sòng 嵩嶽 in Hénán province.
The origin of such Siddhaṁ Song texts appears to have been in India, a development of standard Buddhist liturgy, but exactly how they were transmitted to China and what forms they assumed there, is not quite clear as yet. What is clear, however, is that the Chinese Buddhists copied, or perhaps more correctly, wrote their own versions of such performative texts in which Siddhaṁ phonetics were incorporated. In any case, the text we are dealing with here is certainly one of this type.
Dìnghuì’s instructions in Chán practice have been rendered in didactic verse-form with each section featuring a string of Sanskrit sounds, appearing to emulate the sounds of spells. However, their actual function is evidently to serve as metric markers for rhyming when chanting the text.
In India, the genre traditionally referred to a type of teaching device for learning the Sanskrit alphabet, pronunciation, or grammar. The knowledge of this genre probably arrived already at an early date in China. It is not quite clear how widespread the interest in the “Sanskrit studies” among Buddhists of early medieval China was. However, there is a clear indication that there was a strong impetus during the Táng Dynasty, triggered by the great interest in dhāraṇīs and their correct pronunciation. The knowledge of Indian writing did not only enable a more direct access to the original writings of Buddhism, but were thought to entail great spiritual benefits since each sound or group of sounds were accorded specific virtues.
During the Táng Dynasty there is ample evidence concerning the popularity of Siddhaṃ material. However, there are scholarly debates concerning the older history of Indic writing in China. Some scholars think that the Siddhaṃ alphabet was integrated in the Mahāparinivāṇa sūtra at a later date, since no extant sūtras written in Pāli or Sanskrit contain the Varṇamālā.

In this paper, the Fóshuō Lèngqié jīng chánmén xītán zhāng is edited, annotated, and translated based on P.2204, P.2212, P.3082, P.3099, S.4583v, and Beijing niǎo 鳥64 (BD00041-1). The authors also address the question of authorship and the text’s relation to Northern Chán Buddhism.
In the same volume, Peter Zieme provides a study on the Uighur version of the text (translated from the Chinese).

As Buddhism travelled to the East, so did its languages. Sanskrit, and even some texts in Prakrits like Gāndhārī gradually found their way into China. But these sacred texts did not contain mere narratives—they also had mantras—potent formulae with soteriological, ritualistic and even magical significance. There was a problem, however. The argument for the necessity of a mantra’s exactitude had been inherited from the ritual environment of South Asia where Buddhism had grown up. But how to render the sacred sounds of mantras into Chinese? When, a few centuries later, it was brough to Japan, the same problem arose, but this time with Chinese as an intermediary, creating a perfect storm of systems nested within other systems—phonetic, semantic and scriptural. By a roll of the phonetic dice, Japanese is acoustically much better suited to the rendition of Sanskrit than its mainland counterparts. However, this did not prevent Japanese Buddhist schools from developing their own ideas about mantras and their usage, mixing and matching phrases, pronunciations and meanings as they went along. In this talk I will attempt to lay out the fascinating problematics of this dynamic using the example of a Japanese Siddham manual from the year 1695. I will explore the interplay of historic pronunciations and their written renditions and look at examples of how Japanese Buddhist traditions took mantras and over the centuries made them their own. This process is still ongoing, as mantras continue to be made, live and evolve even in present-day Japan.

In this paper, we will examine a text that enjoyed great popularity in the northwestern region of China, with multiple copies preserved in the Dūnhuáng corpus. Although probably authored during the eighth century and conveying typical Northern Chán ideas, the text was copied repeatedly in later years, evidencing that Northern Chán thinking remained en vogue in at least some sectors of the Chinese Buddhist sphere. As mentioned in the Introduction to this volume, Dūnhuáng Chán adherents were well aware of the “split” in the Chán School, resulting in the so-called “Northern” and “Southern” branches. However, in Dūnhuáng, Chán Buddhists could identify with both approaches, and seem to have had a reconciliatory attitude towards these sectarian developments. The text under discussion not only exemplifies early Chán terminology but also illustrates how Sanskrit versification appeared in material relating to Northern Chán.

The text in question is the Fóshuō Lèngqié jīng chánmén xītán zhāng 佛說楞伽經禪門悉談章 (The Siddham Chapter of the Gate of Chán [According to] the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra Expounded by the Buddha; hereafter the Siddham Song), of which several copies have been identified.  This text was so popular that it was translated into Old Uighur several times. This also suggests that early Chán thinking, concepts, and terms remained popular until at least the 10th century in the Northwestern area, an observation that is also confirmed when we examine the translations of early Chán material in Tibetan.

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The article continues to acquaint readers with results of the study of a xylograph from Khara-Khoto found by Pyotr Kozlov during the Mongol-Sichuan Expedition (1907 - 1909). The author analyzes short dhāraṇīs and mantras included in the xylograph SI 6563 and points out commonly occuring errors in this reconstruction. The transliteration of the dhāraṇīs text is given.

Mupoora chendurum was prepared as per the method mentioned in
the Siddha literature. In the present study Raw and purified drugs of
Lingam (Cinnabar–Red sulphide of Mercury), Pooram (Mercury
subchloride), Rasa chendurum (Mercury sulphide) and the final
product mupoora chendurum were characterized by using the modern
techniques FTIR, ICPOES, SEM and Anti microbial study. FTIR
analysis showed the broad peaks at 3584, 3524  and 1612 cm-1. Peak
at ~2319 cm-1 and ~2395 cm-1 was assigned to C-H and C-H
(methoxy compounds) stretching vibration correspondingly. Absence
of Organic contaminations indicates the proper incineration process.
Trace element analysis by ICP-OES indicated,  absence of heavy
metals Lead, Copper, Cadmium and Arsenic. Mercury concentration
was under acceptable limit (0.97 ppm) at prescribed dose. Microbial
load of the preparation has the highest antibacterial activity against
Bacillus,  Streptococcus  and  Vibrio  species, medium activity against
Salmonella typhi  and  Staphylococcus  and considerably low activity
against E.  coli. SEM analysis indicates agglomeration of the particles
and aggregated particle size of 83.3 nm.