The prophet's dictionary guide to the supernatural

this in the wilderness for Israel to look upon and be cured. Later it became an object of worship during King Hezekiah’s term. The bronze serpent symbolism carried over through the ages even until today where it is the symbol of the medical industry. Also called nehushtan, in the Hebrew, for copper thing. 2 Kings 18:4; Numbers 21:9.

226. Brown—The color symbolic of the earth. 227. Buddha—Founder of the Buddhist religion.

228. Buddhism—Differing from Hinduism, this very similar faith distinguishes itself in how it came to be. Queen Maya, the mother of Buddhism’s founder, Siddhartha Gautama, claimed to have conceived her son, Buddha, in a dream. She asserts to have been impregnated by a white elephant that deposited the baby in her side where she carried and delivered it. His sensational nativity motivated the child’s special status and calling to the ascetic life of a mystic teacher. Disturbed by what the Bible terms the wages of sin (or the law of sin and death) and its three main ravages—disease, aging, and death, the young man abandoned his royal heritage. He became a holy man in search of cosmic truth that would release humans from such fates. Hence, the myth of Nirvana was born. Deep searching and long journeys rewarded his quest, as Buddha believed he found the answers to life. He concocted something called dharma (the law of truth that leads to Nirvana) and began to propagate his new religion. Naturally, needing some deities to carry the torch, he resorted to Hinduism’s pantheon, which he renamed patrons. Over time his fakir life led him to take on what he concluded were aspects of godhood until the images today of the religion’s founder fully emerged. Predicated upon human works, this religion proclaims an eightfold principle of life aimed at teaching its devotees the right way to live on earth to avoid its three destroyers that terrified Buddha: disease, getting old, and dying. His system of spirituality promotes human knowledge and intellectualism as the paths to enlightenment and the truth that leads to Nirvana. Buddha says that chanting, such as that done in yoga, permits mystical communion. It is performed to join devotees’ sounds with the spirits of the wind in order to enable their prayers to get to heaven. See Hinduism and Yoga. 229. Bull Worship—A form of calf worship practiced by ancient, particularly Middle Eastern civilizations. Bull worship is synonymous with sun worship because it typifies the deification of the sun in ancient Egypt. See Baal Worship. 230. Burden of Prophecy—The weight of a prophecy imparted by God to the prophet to be delivered at an appointed time. The weight stems from the