In Vajrayana Buddhism, a Wisdom King (Sanskrit विद्याराज vidyarāja, Chinese Míngwáng 明王, Japanese 明王 myō-ō) is the third type of deity after Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The Sanskrit name literally "king of knowledge", thus the Chinese character "明", meaning knowledgeable (and/or bright) is used, leading to wide array of alternative English names including Radiant King, among others like Guardian King, etc. Wisdom Kings belong to the Buddhist Pantheon. In Tibetan Buddhism, they are known as Heruka.
The female counterparts of Wisdom Kings are known as Wisdom Queens (Ch: Míngfēi 明妃; Jp: 明妃 myōhi), although the distinction is often ignored.
Read more about Wisdom King: Doctrine, Iconography
Famous quotes containing the words wisdom and/or king:
“O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.”
—Bible: Hebrew Psalm CIV (l. CIV, 24)
“I don’t think Dr. King helped racial harmony, I think he helped racial justice. What I profess to do is help the oppressed and if I cause a load of discomfort in the white community and the black community, that in my opinion means I’m being effective, because I’m not trying to make them comfortable. The job of an activist is to make people tense and cause social change.”
—Al, Reverend Sharpton (b. 1954)