Abhidharma

Abhi-dharma Pit.aka

embryology

p.	*event*
337	the mind, consisting of 33 factors, "was in the right side of the first man [father] for seven days. Then, departing from his left side,
	it entered the womb of the first woman [mother] through the top of her head.
338	Then it turned into a drop of sesame oil which stuck to the tail of a deer for seven days." {hence the symbolism, in the Markan.d.eya Puran.a, of the Manu's [= mind's ?] holding the tail [flagellum ?] of a doe deer [spermatozoo:n ?] while she swam through the waters of the deluge [= intra-uterine moisture ?].}
	the vowels became the joints & sectors of the body:-
	the 3 short vowels "became the connecting points."
	a	knee
	i	waist
	u	neck
	the long vowels became the connected sectors:-
	a	right leg
	i	left leg
	u	right arm
	e	left arm
	o	body
[338-9]	the consonants became the 32 constituent substances of the body:-
338	k	hair of head
	kh	hair of body
	g	finger- & toe-nails
	gh	teeth
	n	skin
	c	flesh
	ch	tendons
	j	bones
	jh	marrow
	n~	spleen
	t.	heart
	d.	pleura
	d.h	kidney
	n.	lungs
	t	small intestine
	th	large intestine
	d	food being digested
	dh	excrement
	l.	skull
	n	brain
339	n [again!]	gallbladder
	p	phlegm
	ph	pus
	b	blood
	bh	sweat
	m	fat
	y	tears
	r	fatty oils
	l	spit
	v	mucus
	s	joint-fluid
	h	urine

{this system would imply consonant + vowel type of syllables such as are specified by glosses in Tantrik lexical compendia.}

{assignment of alphabetic letters to bodily parts & substances is also made in the Kala-cakra Tantra.}

p. 340 locations of the Buddha-s [as internal deities {cf. Daoist internal deities}] in body

*Buddha*	*location in body*
Krakut-sandha	right eye
Kanaka-muni	left eye
Kas`yapa	the back
Gau-tama	navel
Maitreya	forehead

pp. 340-341 prognostication by week-day of death, of release (by means of a specific scripture) of soul from demerits accrued through specific sense

*week-day*	scripture: Dharma-__	*sense-organ*
Sunday	*-sangan.i*	eye
Monday	*-vibhanga*	ear
Tuesday	*-dhatu-katha*	nose
Wednesday	*-pudgala-prajn~apti*	mouth
Thursday	*-katha-vatthu*	body
Friday	*-mayamaka*	speech
Saturday	*-maha-pras.t.hana*	mind

p. 336 "in contemporary Thailand monks chant summary versions of the seven books of the Abhidhamma Pit.aka at funerals" {this may be done so as to assure appropriate re-linking.}

PRINCETON READINGS IN RELIGIONS, 2 = Donald S. Lopez (ed.): Buddhism in Practice. Princeton U. Pr, 1995. Chapter 29 = pp. 336-342 David K. Swearer: "A Summary of the Seven Books of the Abhidhamma."