La scrittura perfezionata

Siddha? is the beautiful writing that is still used today in the esoteric Buddhist schools. Its characters are called, in Japanese, Bonji, the characters of Brahm?, a name used, however, for both Siddha? and Sanskrit, an authoritative language whose name cames from sa?sk?ta, meaning “perfect”, a language quite distinct from pr?k?ta, the popular languages. Legend tells that Brahm? engraved the sacred scriptures of the Aryans, the Vedas, in the gold leaf and that various graphemes were born from these characters, including Siddha?, coming from northern India. In the next years, it first became synonymous of a syllabary for students, then the word Siddha? was used to indicate Indian writing. Siddha? means “perfected” and, over time, Buddhists considered it the perfect script for the Sanskrit language. Siddha? left the borders of India thanks to the missionaries, arriving first in China, where it was disappearing forever, following the fall of the Tang dynasty but in Japan experienced a new rebirth, thanks to the esoteric schools, where an enormous importance is given. In this text, its characteristics, both historical and technical, will be presented, but inserted in a broad historical and cultural context, which includes not only the history of this language but also of that kind of Buddhism that embraced these beautiful signs.