Wisdom Tradition is a term that is sometimes given to the inner core or mystic aspects of a religious or spiritual tradition, without the trappings, doctrinal literalism, sectarianism, and power structures that are associated with institutionalised religion. The Wisdom Tradition provides a conceptual framework for the development of the inner self, living a spiritual life, and the realisation of Enlightenment or of Union with God.
Ken Wilber frequently uses the term in the plural in his own books, shadowing the theologian Huston Smith who popularized the usage. In this context it can be considered synonymous with Esotericism, but does not have the faintly Western/Middle Eastern/Theosophical nuances that are sometimes associated with the latter term.
In Christianity and in the Hebrew Bible, the term is used to describe female images of the divine in the Book of Wisdom. It is one of the seven Sapiential or wisdom books of the Septuagint Old Testament, which includes Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon (Song of Songs), and Sirach.
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Famous quotes containing the words wisdom and/or tradition:
“Men who are lovers of wisdom [i.e., philosophers] must be inquirers into many things.”
—Heraclitus (c. 535–475 B.C.)
“Because it’s not only that a child is inseparable from the family in which he lives, but that the lives of families are determined by the community in which they live and the cultural tradition from which they come.”
—Bernice Weissbourd (20th century)