DESCRIPTION
The study of Buddhist mantras (’true words’) begins by learning the 'Arapacana Syllabary' - a Buddhist magical alphabet traditionally consisting of 42 syllables. This syllabary loosely corresponds to the modern Sanskrit alphabet, however, it is traditionally written in a particular script known as Siddham (rather than Devanagari), and it has a specific order that begins with the five syllables: A - Ra - Pa -Ca - Na, from whence its name is derived.
This course consists of a syllable-by-syllable study of the Arapacana Syllabary using an ancient Buddhist 'wisdom poem' found in the Prajñāpāramita sutras. Similar to the English learning technique wherein letters are associated with words, such as: 'A is for Apple, B is for Banana, etc.,' this poem uses essential concepts from the Prajñāpāramita philosophical lexicon to teach each 'Letter of Law.'
Primary Reading
📖The Arapacana Syllabary Sutra
Suggested Reading
📖 Jayarava, Visible Mantra (Cambridge: Visible Mantra Books, 2011) 📖 R. H. van Gulik. Siddham: An Essay on the History of Sanskrit in China and Japan. Aditya Prakashan, 2001.