Who is King Yama?

Bright on Buddhism Episode 34 - Who is King Yama? Where does he come from? How does he fit into the system of karma and reincarnation? Resources: Kevin Trainor: Buddhism: An Illustrated Guide;Donald Lopez: Norton Anthology of World Religions: Buddhism; Chan Master Sheng Yen: Orthodox Chinese Buddhism; Nagarjuna: Verses of The Middle Way (The Madhyamakarika); Conze, Edward, trans. The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and Its Verse Summary. Bolinas, CA: Four Seasons Foundation, 1973.; The Bodhisattva Vow: A Practical Guide to Helping Others, page 1, Tharpa Publications (2nd. ed., 1995) ISBN 978-0-948006-50-0; Flanagan, Owen (2011-08-12). The Bodhisattva's Brain: Buddhism Naturalized. MIT Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-262-29723-3.; Williams, Paul, Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 2008.; Robert Buswell, Encyclopedia of Buddhism - Folk Religion; Dharmapala; WAYMAN, ALEX. “STUDIES IN YAMA AND MĀRA.” Indo-Iranian Journal 3, no. 1 (1959): 44–73. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24648529.; GANANY, NOGA. “Baogong as King Yama in the Literature and Religious Worship of Late-Imperial China.” Asia Major 28, no. 2 (2015): 39–75. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44743319.; Faure, Bernard. “Indic Influences on Chinese Mythology: King Yama and His Acolytes as Gods of Destiny.” In India in the Chinese Imagination: Myth, Religion, and Thought, edited by JOHN KIESCHNICK and MEIR SHAHAR, 46–60. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hjkt5.6.; Kalsang, Ladrang (1996). The Guardian Deities of Tibet Delhi: Winsome Books. (Third Reprint 2003) ISBN 81-88043-04-4.; Linrothe, Rob (1999). Ruthless Compassion: Wrathful Deities in Early Indo-Tibetan Esoteric Buddhist Art London: Serindia Publications. ISBN 0-906026-51-2.; De Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Rene (1956). Oracles and Demons of Tibet. Oxford University Press. Reprint Delhi: Books Faith, 1996 - ISBN 81-7303-039-1. Reprint Delhi: Paljor Publications, 2002 - ISBN 81-86230-12-2. Do you have a question about Buddhism that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by tweeting to us @BrightBuddhism, emailing us at [email protected], or joining us on our discord server, Hidden Sangha https://discord.gg/tEwcVpu! Credits: Nick Bright: Script, Cover Art, Music, Voice of Hearer, Co-Host Proven Paradox: Editing, mixing and mastering, social media, Voice of Hermit, Co-Host