Heart
Description
A hollow, muscular, contractile 10-ounce organ, the center of the circulatory system. The heart pumps over 300 quarts of blood an hour. The heart beats around 100 thousand times every day and some 37 million times a year. The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet.
Function
It provides propulsive force to circulate blood throughout the vascular system over 60,000 miles a day.
Color
Red. In Buddhist texts, it relates colors of the heart to temperament: Clear, bright, like a washed gem in pure water (wise), yellow (faithful), speculative (light amber), Red (greedy), black (hating), deluded (all washed up).
Shape
Like a Lotus bud.
Direction
Above the waist.
Location
Found between the two breasts inside the body slightly to the left of midline.
Delimitation
Bordered by lungs and back. Behind sternum or breastplate bone.
Meditation on the Heart