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●● Introduction to Reiki ●● |
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HISTORY OF REIKI The Authors, CT Conroy & JA Conroy, have made their best effort to produce a high quality, informative and helpful document. But they make no representation or warranties of any kind with regard to the completeness or accuracy of the document. They accept no liability of any kind for any losses or damages caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, from using the information contained in this document.
History (or Herstory) of Reiki …There are presently two different versions of how Reiki came to be ‘re-discovered’ doing the rounds.
There is the ‘Western’ version and the ‘Eastern’ version. We will look at the ‘Western’ version first, and it goes something like this.
Western version In the mid 1800’s, the Meiji period, Dr Mikao Usui was the dean of a small Christian university called Doshisha University in Kyoto Japan.
During one of his classes several students wanted to know whether he believed in the Bible.
Dr Usui replied that he did indeed believe.
The students then asked if he believed in Jesus’ ability to heal the sick. Again Dr Usui replied that he did. The students pressed his beliefs further.
They quoted Jesus’ statement “You can do this too, and more”, and asked when, if Dr Usui also accepted this as being true, they would be taught how to heal just like Jesus.
Now Dr Usui was a Japanese of very traditional values. He was not able to pass these teachings on to his students and honour demanded that he resign.
He did so, immediately.
Dr Usui leaves Japan He decided that he would make it his life’s mission to seek out the ability to heal as Jesus had done and went off in search of this knowledge. He reasoned that as Jesus was a Christian he would find this knowledge in a Christian country and travelled to America.
On his arrival in America Dr Usui studied at the University of Chicago. Despite spending seven years studying Christianity, philosophy, the scriptures and several other religions, he was unable to find the knowledge he sought.
He had learned that Jesus was said to have travelled throughout India and Tibet and so decided that he too would follow in his footsteps.
Further studies in Buddhism It was here that Dr Usui learned Sanskrit and studied the Indian and Tibetan Sutras. But still he was unable to find what he sought and so decided to travel back to Japan to further his studies in Buddhism, as he knew Buddha had also healed the sick.
Kyoto, at that time, had all the largest monasteries so naturally Dr Usui continued his search there.
He visited every monastery in turn, asking the monks whether they were able to heal as Buddha had done. The response from each monastery was always the same. No.
They were aware that Buddha had healed the physical body and that it was written in the Sutras.
However it was their belief that healing the spirit was more important and because of this they did not know how to heal the body.
Dr Usui was becoming more and more despondent but he did not give up his search. He continued on and came across a Zen monastery. It was here that he met with great support for his search.
Even though the monks at this monastery were also concentrating on healing the spirit they believed that the knowledge for healing the body would be made available to them through their meditations.
They invited Dr Usui to join them.
Nearing the end of his search He spent three years there, searching the Sutras and meditating with the other monks, and eventually he discovered a formula for contacting a higher power able to bestow on the seeker abilities for healing the physical body.
This formula was, in itself, very simple, but it was going to need interpreting and testing to see if it worked.
Through meditation and discussion with the other monks, Dr Usui came to the realisation that enlightenment on how to use the formula would be given to him if he fasted and meditated for 21 days.
Mount Kurama Near Kyoto was a very holy mountain called Mount Kurama, and it was to here that Dr Usui travelled. He climbed the mountain and found a beautiful spot, facing east, with water for drinking nearby.
To prevent himself from losing track of time he gathered together 21 stones with the intention of throwing away one stone at the dawn of each new day.
Ready for whatever experience that presented itself, Dr Usui began his vigil.
Dr Usui sees the light For twenty days Dr Usui fasted, meditated, read the scriptures, chanted and prayed without anything out of the ordinary happening.
Then on the morning of the twenty-first day whilst looking out into the darkness of the pre-dawn he noticed what seemed to be a small flicker of light away in the distance.
As Dr Usui focussed on this light it began to travel towards him becoming brighter and brighter.
He became very afraid and was in two minds as to whether to stay or run away. Calming himself he remembered that this was the very reason he was there. He stood up and determined that he would stay where he was and accept anything that happened, even if that meant his own death.
The light continued to get closer becoming much brighter as it did so.
Dr Usui was suddenly aware that the light was actually a consciousness and was seeking to communicate with him.
It said that this was the enlightenment to healing others that he had been seeking. He was to understand however that the light would have to strike him in the third eye, and it was so powerful it might actually kill him.
The decision to allow this to happen was entirely up to Dr Usui, it had to be his own choice.
The light strikes Dr Usui decided to allow the light to strike him.
The force of the blow knocked him unconscious and it was whilst he was in this trance like state that he saw beautiful bubbles of coloured lights rising up before his eyes. Inside the bubbles were different symbols and as he studied them he became attuned to their energy.
When Dr Usui regained full consciousness he knew that what had transpired had been all that he had been looking for.
He felt tremendously energised and not at all weary. Quickly he got his few possessions together, he wanted to get back to the monastery to share his experiences with the abbot.
The first miracle Setting off at a great pace he stumbled, stubbing his toe quite badly in the process.
The pain lanced through his body and he instinctively bent down and cupped the damaged toe in his hands. Immediately the pain began to subside and a few minutes later both the pain and the bleeding had stopped completely.
Dr Usui was thrilled. It was like a miracle.
There was something very different about his hands now.
They seemed to have emanated a tremendous heat whilst he was holding his toe.
Quickly he got back to his feet and hurried off down the mountain in the direction of the monastery.
At the foot of the mountain he came across a typical Japanese snack bar that had been set up to feed weary travellers. Dr Usui stopped and, with great enthusiasm, ordered a full breakfast.
The proprietor warned Dr Usui to only have a light meal of rice gruel. He could see by Dr Usui’s unkempt and unshaved condition that he had obviously been meditating and, therefore, fasting for some time.
He did not want his first customer of the day getting indigestion. Dr Usui, however, felt so good he ignored the concerns of the proprietor and ate heartily, finishing the complete meal with no ill effects whatsoever.
Another miracle.
Dr Usui heals his first patient As Dr Usui was preparing to pay for the meal the proprietor’s granddaughter came to clear away the dishes.
He noticed tears in her eyes and that the side of her face was very red and swollen.
She appeared to be in great pain.
On enquiring from the proprietor as to why this was, he learned that the young girl had been suffering severe toothache for many days.
He also learned that the proprietor was unable to afford either the time or the money to take his granddaughter to the dentist seventeen miles away in Kyoto.
Overwhelmed with compassion Dr Usui was overwhelmed with compassion and asked for permission to attempt to heal her.
The girl gladly accepted this offer of help and allowed Dr Usui to gently cup her face in his hands. Within seconds the discomfort began to subside and minutes later the pain and the swelling had completely disappeared.
A third miracle.
With the profuse thanks of the proprietor and the girl ringing in his ears Dr Usui set off on the rest of his journey back to the monastery. On arrival he learned that the abbot had been laid up in bed with an acute attack of arthritis.
Wasting no time he went to his old friend and whilst recounting his experiences on the mountain gently rested his hands on the abbots body.
Again within moments the discomfort began to subside and minutes later had disappeared altogether.
The abbot was astonished at this demonstration of healing and as the two friends talked into the night it was decided that the best thing to do next would be to go out into the city to heal the sick.
Dr Usui chose to go out and take up residence in the Beggars Kingdom.
He spent the next seven years working in this poor part of Kyoto, helping as many people as he could.
Many remarkable healings took place and Dr Usui was content with his life until he came across a beggar that he had healed many years before. Dr Usui questioned this man as to why he had returned once more to the life of a beggar, and was extremely dismayed at the response.
It turned out that the beggar had been, initially, very happy at having been healed. He had gone back into the main part of the city and had even found himself a good job. For a while he had prospered but the responsibility of looking after himself became too much for him.
It was much easier living the life of a beggar.
Unfortunately this was not an isolated case. Dr Usui discovered more and more people who had returned to begging after having been healed, and it greatly saddened him.
Perhaps, he thought, the Buddhist monks were right. Perhaps it was more important to heal the spirit than the body.
Reiki should not be given for free Dr Usui went into meditation to seek the answers on how he could have got it so wrong.
He discovered that his biggest mistake was in healing the bodies of the beggars without teaching them the value of responsibility.
He also realised that because he had been giving away the healing for free, none of the beggars had apportioned any value to this help.
Dr Usui had unwittingly strengthened their belief in begging as being the only way of getting what they wanted.
With this realisation he immediately closed his healing practice and left the Beggars Quarter.
It was also during this period that Dr Usui developed his Five Principles of Reiki, and became aware that the symbols he had been shown on Mount Kurama were to be used for initiating others into this healing system that he now called Reiki.
For his remaining years Dr Usui travelled the length and breadth of Japan spreading his Reiki healing.
On his death in 1926 he had initiated 16 people as Reiki Masters and had charged one of his most dedicated students, Dr Chujiro Hayashi, with the responsibility of preserving and continuing the Reiki teachings.
1. Just for today, I will let go of anger.
2. Just for today, I will let go of worry.
3. Today, I will count my many blessings.
4. Today, I will do my work honestly.
5. Today, I will be kind to every living creature.
The five principles of Reiki
Dr Chujiro Hayashi
A retired naval officer, a commander in the Imperial Navy of Japan, Dr Hayashi was forty-seven when he was initiated as a Reiki Master.
He had spent many years following Dr Usui on his travels around Japan and had become a very capable and dedicated healer in his own right.
It came as no surprise, therefore, that Dr Usui, much impressed with this competent leader of men, rewarded him by passing to him the title of Reiki Grand Master prior to his death.
Dr Hayashi went on to open the first Reiki clinic in Tokyo and it was here whilst using a combination of observation and clinical record keeping that he developed the twelve basic hand positions in use today.
He also refined the attunement process by dividing it into three separate levels called degrees.
It is not known how many people Dr Hayashi trained in Reiki but it is known that, being a renowned psychic, Dr Hayashi foresaw the coming of the Second World War and decided to pass on Reiki to two women.
This he did in the knowledge that many of the men he had trained would be killed in the fighting and he wanted to ensure that Reiki survived.
The two women he trained were his wife and Mrs Hawayo Takata.
Mrs Hawayo Takata Mrs Takata was born on 24 December 1900 in Hanamaulu, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Although being born in Hawaii, gave her American nationality, her parents, Mr and Mrs Otogoro Kawamura were Japanese immigrants. Her father worked at a sugar plantation on Kauai and it was the bookkeeper of this plantation, Mr Saichi Takata, that Hawayo eventually fell in love with and married.
They had two children but, tragically, Saichi died in 1930 at the age of thirty-four leaving Hawayo to bring up the family completely on her own, as her parents had returned to Japan.
Mrs Takata continued to work at the sugar plantation but with the loss of her husband’s wage she found she had to work harder and longer to make ends meet.
As a result her health began to suffer and in 1935, when on a visit to her parents in Japan, her condition deteriorated so rapidly she was admitted to hospital.
She was in the operating theatre being prepared for surgical intervention when she was strongly impressed to question the doctor on alternatives to surgery. Her surgeon, knowing of Dr Hayashi’s work at the Reiki Clinic, mentioned that she might benefit from Reiki treatment and suggested she might try it.
Mrs Takata immediately cancelled her operation and went to the Reiki Clinic for consultation.
Mrs Takata was very encouraged when the clinics’ diagnosis of her illness, matched the one she had been given by the hospital, and decided to begin treatment with them.
Over the next few months Mrs Takata attended the Reiki clinic on a daily basis.
Not only did she experience the wonder of Reiki at first hand, making a complete recovery, she also saw Reiki in action with other people. The results spoke for themselves and Mrs Takata knew she had to learn the art herself.
Mrs Takata’s two great hurdles Unfortunately, Mrs Takata had two very large hurdles to overcome first if she was to be taught Reiki. Number one, she was a woman and number two, she was not Japanese. This was 1935, and the notion of any Japanese art being taught to foreigners was unthinkable.
And to teach a woman was impossible.
Mrs Takata, though, was not the kind of person to give up lightly.
She knew that to be taken seriously she would have to show total commitment and dedication. This she did and even offered to sell her house in Hawaii to emphasise her devotion. But all of this may not have been enough however, had it not been for Dr Hayashi’s psychic abilities.
As already mentioned, he knew that the Second World War was coming and that many of the men he had taught Reiki would be called on to fight and die.
He also knew that a woman would have a greater chance of surviving this madness.
Mrs Takata became the beneficiary of this insight.
Finally Accepted into Reiki Mrs Takata’s Reiki instruction began with her immediately receiving the First Degree initiation. She spent the next year working with Dr Hayashi and then received her Second Degree initiation.
On completion of this training she returned to Hawaii and opened her own Reiki clinic.
In 1938 Dr Hayashi travelled to Hawaii and ensured the continuance of Reiki by initiating Mrs Takata as a Reiki Master. Just prior to his death in 1941 he declared Mrs Takata Grand Master.
At this time Mrs Takata was the only practicing Reiki Master in the West, and for quite a while that was the way it stayed. Eventually she saw the need for more Reiki Masters and, beginning in the 1970’s, initiated 22 people before her death in 1980.
The Eastern Version Dr Usui was born on August 15th 1865 in the village of Yago in the Yamagata district of Gifu prefecture.
He was a very happy and industrious person who gave a great deal of his life to the study of metaphysics and spirituality.
He read voraciously and became extremely knowledgeable in medicine, psychology and religious practices from around the world. He was also known for his abilities as a psychic and fortune-teller. Before re-discovering Reiki he had been running a small business but it had failed, leaving him deeply demoralised and heavily in debt.
As many people do, when life seems to be letting them down, he sought help and guidance from ‘Higher Sources’.
He wanted to know what the meaning of life was all about. And it was to Mount Kurama that he went to seek his answers, for it was well known in the area as a place of spiritual enlightenment.
Dr Usui’s Satori At that time it was not unusual for people to go on a twenty-one day meditation and fasting retreat on the mountain, and it was known that Dr Usui had a favourite place where he liked to meditate.
It was a beautiful spot near a waterfall and it was whilst actually meditating under the waterfall that he had a moment of enlightenment or ‘Satori’ as it is known in Japanese. This is when the full realisation of the meaning of life, and the healing system he called Reiki, became known to him.
From this time on Dr Usui used the Reiki energy on himself and then on his friends and family.
As it worked well he began using it on the general public and eventually opened up his first clinic in Tokyo.
His fame as a healer began to spread, bringing people from far and wide. These people came not only for healing but also to learn the system for themselves.
This led to the founding of the Reiki movement, which Dr Usui called ‘Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkei’ (Usui Healing Method Society).
The Tokyo earthquake In 1923 a powerful earthquake hit Tokyo causing massive damage to the city, and death and injuries to many thousands of inhabitants.
Dr Usui used his Reiki healing to great effect during this time and such was the success of his Reiki that his first clinic soon became too small to cope. To rectify this problem a larger one was built in Nakano outside Tokyo.
Dr Usui’s fame began spreading even further now; indeed his name began to be known throughout Japan.
With this fame came invitations to travel to distant cities, which Dr Usui undertook, and it was while on one of these visits to Fukuyama that he had a stroke and died on March 9th 1926.
Now as you can see, the two versions are quite different. And, wouldn’t you just know it, the proponents of each one claims their version to be the original and genuine article.
Which one would you like to choose? Either or neither may be the truth.
Whilst you’re deciding let’s give you another issue to consider. Western Reiki has recently ‘discovered’, that Reiki still exists in Japan. It had not died out in the Second World War as was originally believed.
Inevitably this has led to comparisons between the two styles.
There are differences, of course, bringing about the almost obligatory; ‘Ours is better than yours’ game being played by both sides.
If this weren’t so sad it would be laughable.
Reiki is supposed to enlighten, for God’s sake, and we really do mean - for God’s sake. This childish nonsense has no place in Reiki and should be firmly set aside.
Reiki is the energy of the Divine. It cares not one jot as to how or where it is brought into the lives of those who have chosen to receive it.
Reiki simply enters and works regardless.
So, just know and understand this…
Reiki as taught and practised in the West WORKS.
Reiki as taught and practised in the East WORKS.
It cannot be any other way.
To say any different is to deny the essence of Reiki itself.
Reiki is the life force energy – the life force energy is GOD, for in our universe there is only one energy.
Anyone, therefore, saying that their method of receiving Reiki is better than another is implying that God shares their jaundiced view.
How arrogant. How misguided.
Okay, we’ll put the soapbox away for now. But before we move on too much further let’s just go over the main issues.
Dr Usui was not a Christian Dr Usui was almost certainly not a Christian; he was far more likely to have been a Buddhist. His knowledge of other religions would probably have included Christianity but there is no record of him being Dean of Doshisha University in Kyoto.
It is known that he did travel to western countries and China, but there is no record of him attending Chicago University as either a student or lecturer.
He was not a doctor in the conventional western sense, his Japanese students or disciples referred to him as Usui-Sensei (sensei means teacher). [We have no problem in continuing to call him doctor though, by the way].
Reiki was not just an oral teaching Dr Usui and Dr Hayashi both produced manuals for their students.
No Grand Master Title There was no title of Grandmaster created; instead there was a president of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkei. Dr Usui was, quite obviously, the first president. There have been six further Presidents: Mr Ushida, Mr Taketomi, Mr Watanabe, Mr Wanami, Mrs Koyama and finally Mr Kondo who is the present president at the time of writing.
Reiki did not die out in Japan and only become available in the West through Mrs Takata, as some people believe.
The existence of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkei now known as Usui Kai confirms this.
Dr Hayashi was not given the title of Grandmaster (for as we have said this title did not and does not exist) he was a respected disciple of Dr Usui who had been granted teacher status. Dr Hayashi did teach Mrs Takata and did pass on the complete teachings to her.
He obviously did not pass on to her the title of Grandmaster.
Dr Usui did not develop the five principles; he adapted them from the Meiji Emperor and which were:
The five principles of the Meiji Emperor Don’t get angry today. Don’t worry today. Be grateful today. Work hard today. Be kind to others today.
The Reiki that was taught by Dr Usui probably consisted of the following five items:
1. The ability to channel the Reiki energy and give Reiki treatments. 2. The attunement symbols and the ability to pass on Reiki to others. 3. The three degrees of Reiki. 4. The five Reiki principles. 5. The necessity to charge for a treatment
Dr Hayashi added the twelve hand positions of Reiki through his observations on healing taking place in his clinic.
Mrs Takata introduced the high fee structure of $10,000 for taking the Reiki Master attunement
Students of Mrs Takata introduced the required waiting times between the classes for the attunements.
A clearer picture? We hope this is beginning to bring a somewhat clearer picture of Reiki history to those people who may already be involved in the art, and who might have received mixed messages from others.
If you are new to Reiki, please ignore and forgive the political wrangling and just enjoy Reiki for what it is.
Drawing some final conclusions As you can now see, Traditional Reiki, if there could ever be such a thing, can probably only be the Reiki as taught by Dr Usui.
He taught his students how to use the Reiki energy for healing, both themselves and others. The three degrees of Reiki (although in Japan they teach six).
The ability to pass the energy on to others through the attunement processes.
The five principles of Reiki, sometimes known as the Reiki Ideals.
And possibly the notion that people have to pay for Reiki treatments. As far as we are aware at this time, that’s it.
That is the entirety of Reiki as originally taught by Dr Usui to over 2000 people.
He almost certainly did not teach crystal grids, psychic surgery, the healing attunement, the Antahkarana, Tibetan Reiki, Karuna Reiki, Seichem, Tera-Mai, Raku Kei, Sekhem, Advanced Reiki or any of a host of other techniques and trainings now available.
All of these are add-ons and have been introduced by other Reiki Masters who have followed on after.
Most of these additions are quite valid in there own right and can be extremely useful.
Some, like the splitting up of Reiki into many more levels is not. That, to us, would appear to be just going for the money!
It also has to be taken into account that Dr Usui was a great student of metaphysics and spirituality, and, from what we can make out, very eclectic in nature. The probability, therefore, is very high that he might have gone on to expand Reiki by including these extras himself, had they proved to be useful.
As far as we are concerned, bringing Reiki into your life is and always should be a wonderful experience. For us it is simply the act of experiencing God more directly. It has nothing to do with religion of any kind. God is not accessible purely through a religion. For us Reiki simply means this:
Personal Communion with God This is, of course, our interpretation of the word. You see, in Japan, Reiki is a generic term for healing; which is why the Reiki founded by Dr Usui was called Usui Shiki Ryoho (Usui System of Natural Healing).
Interpreting the word Reiki In Japanese the Kanji Ideogram Rei apparently can be interpreted as having several meanings, (and we say apparently because we cannot read Japanese ourselves and have to rely on others).
Anyway, the meanings for Rei are - universal, holy, spiritual consciousness. The kanji for Ki can mean - energy, life force, vital force that animates all living things. So from this it can be seen that the word Reiki can be translated into – the universal and holy, spiritually conscious, life force energy that energises and animates all living things.
Are there many more apt descriptions of God?
Even if you are someone who can’t, at the moment, bring yourself to believe in such an entity, or prefer to use another name. ☼
Right we are then, that’s the potted history of Reiki.
Don’t take any of it too seriously. Just remember, Reiki was not ‘invented’ by Dr Usui, it was already there. He merely discovered or, more accurately, re-discovered a method for pulling it more clearly into his life.
Reiki does not, indeed cannot, belong to any one society, country or person.
It belongs to everyone.
To imagine differently would be like believing only members of a certain religion have the right to breathe the air. Reiki, just like air, is everywhere and can be drawn upon by anyone at any time.
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