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The Japanese System of Reiki

Reiki has been growing in popularity for the last few decades in the west, becoming a widely accepted system of energetic healing. Unfortunately due to several miscommunications and the distortion of time, the western image and form of Reiki has become something with very little resemblance to the traditional japanese system. This essay is not meant to compare the systems, but to illuminate the nature of Japanese Reiki, to read direct comparisons of the systems see the essay Reiki Deathmatch: East vs. West.

In the mid 1800s Usui Mikao was born, and in the early years of the 1900s, he would create the system of Reiki. It was a spiritual system derived from the insights he gained in his study of various faiths and beliefs system, and it still has strong connection to the systems he drew from; Shinto, Buddhism (Tendai Mikkyô), Martial arts (Aiki Jutsu) and Shugendô. It was his intent to make the teachings more accessible, as beliefs like Tendai Buddhism are esoteric, and required great periods of study, often isolated and knowledge was dictated by what a teacher considered important and lacked a wide distribution. These systems were merged and harmonized into a belief and practice that could be used along side the originating beliefs, or other systems.

Reiki can be translated several ways, one of the more popular translations is spiritual energy, though can also be translated as mysterious life force or sacred energy. It has become used as the name of practice/belief, as well as the energy involved in the techniques, and the act of offering the energy. In this article Reiki will refer to the belief system, Reiki energy will be the energy involved, and offering Reiki will be used in place of Reiki as a verb. It is a point worth noting, that Usui Mikao was reported to never have named the system, the term Reiki came up after his death.

Reiki is a system of self-betterment, a method of reminding the self of the connection to the Divine, or to develop an individual’s spiritual connection. It consists of some basic philosophy, some meditative techniques, and techniques to offer Reiki energy to the self. With these components a practitioner can bring their spirit and body into harmony, or the mind, spirit and body. Through daily practise one can bring themselves into a balanced state of living, sometimes viewed as Samadhi, a state of enlightenment.

There is much focus on the healing aspect of Reiki, and while Reiki does have several techniques to heal the self and others, that was not the intent of the system, but arose as a side-effect or as another path within Reiki. One word for healthy in Japanese is Genki, which can be translated as good energy, or abundant energy, this can illustrate that in their world view health, in the physical sense, is dependant upon the state of the spirit or energy. Health problems can manifest in the physical body, in the spirit, and in the emotions/mind, and a problem in one area becomes a problem somewhere else. An emotional issue just needs time; sometimes short, sometimes long, to become a physical problem. To be healthy all aspects must be treated, body, mind and spirit. In order to be peaceful and balanced, the mind and spirit must be well, and with that comes wellness of the physical body, and in turn by keeping the body well the mind and spirit can be brought into harmony with greater ease.

The healing techniques of Reiki can focus on the physical body, or the mind/emotion/spirit, though such targeting can be seen as arbitrary as the healing of one leads to the health of the others. The focus of the healing in Reiki is to keep body, mind, and spirit balanced so you can live balanced, and peacefully. Healing in Reiki is done through Reiki energy, not through the energy of the practitioner, nor the recipient, and it is done without the control of the practitioner, they are a vessel for Reiki energy, but do not control it. The ability to heal in Reiki is facilitated by two things which can operate independently, but are best applied by working in tandem.

To begin using Reiki energy a student receives Reiju, the mysterious blessing, which is not an instilment of energy or knowledge, but a reminder from their teacher that they are connected to Reiki energy, and a blessing that they continue this path. Reiju does not create the connection, but merely facilitates its use, in case the connection has been blocked. It can be compared to cleaning a pipe, rather than installing plumbing. Continuing with the pipe analogy, just because one receives Reiju does not mean the flow will continue, in time the pipe could become tight or plugged again.

The second aspect that allows for healing within Reiki, is the peace of mind, the internal balance and harmony. By living in harmony with the self, and the surrounding world, the practitioner keeps themselves “clear” allowing Reiki energy to pass through them.

If someone only receives Reiju, but maintains no practice, than their connection can be lost or forgotten, but by continuing to practice they can keep this connection strong. It is tradition that at any meeting of teacher and student, the teacher gives Reiju to the student, to remind them of their path, and to further bless them.

A connection is never created to Reiki energy, that connection is always present, it is merely obscured, lost beneath the grime of everyday life, beneath stress, fear and anger. Reiki energy is often described as being external, but that is not wholly true, for Reiki energy is considered to be either the energy of all things, or the energy of life, so it is present within the practitioner and beyond them.

In order to keep oneself open to Reiki, it is recommended that there be a form of daily practice, though more sparse practices can still keep the self open. These recommended practices come in the form of personal healings, to keep the flow within the body strong and clear and meditation in a few forms, to help keep the mind in balance, and the spirit vigorous. Lastly, but perhaps the most important is the five principles of Reiki, the Gokai, which are the first traditional teaching of Reiki, and often considered the foundation of practice. They are included at the end of the article, for the benefit of the reader, for they are not secret nor must one practice Reiki to learn from them.

Some people consider Reiki to be an occult tradition, for it has four levels, Shoden, the first teachings, Chuden, the middle teachings, Okuden, the inner teachings, and Shinpiden, the mystery teachings. At each level the student learns more techniques of healing, more meditations, Shirushi and Jumon (symbols and mantras), as well as a deeper understanding of Reiki, and the personal connection to this energy. The teachings of each level are not secret for any mysterious reason, for any magical purpose, but are kept secret in a placid way out of practicality. One must thoroughly understand the path they have tread in order to make best use of the path before them. Each level builds on the teaching, allowing greater balance and harmony, but if one is focused on the knowledge above, or tries to build before the foundation is set, then the efforts will not produce the best fruit.

In the modern world someone could finish their study of Shinpiden in under two years if they dedicate themselves, and have a teacher who will allow them to progress at that speed, but at the time of Usui Mikao’s death, after teaching Reiki for ten to twenty years, only a dozen students had reached Shinpiden, though literally thousands were in Shoden and Chuden. This illustrates the seriousness and devotion the system originally inspired in people.

In the hundred years since its conception in Japan, Reiki has swept across the world gaining surprising acceptance and popularity in the process. In that time a lot of the focus of Reiki was lost, largely in the western world, with deeper meanings, and teachings obscured. By accident or design what the west accepted as Reiki was very foreign to how it was created. As Reiki approaches its centennial, a resurgence of interest in the true origins of Reiki have begun to bring the teachings of the East, into the West.

Reiki is traditionally, first and foremost a method of self-improvement and a path to inner peace. The gokai can guide those who practice and those who don’t to a greater depth of inner peace. Within Reiki a practitioner is told to say the gokai thrice in the morning, and thrice in the evening, to keep it with them at all times, so they may live them, and gain peace for them.

For today only
Do not anger
Do not worry
Be humble
Be honest in your work
Be compassionate to yourself and others.

Yeah, those five precepts are mainly it. I think it is easy to work into a lot of belief systems simply because a) it is a composite belief system at it's core, and b) it was largely based in Buddhism, which combines well with a lot of belief systems.



Heh, we'll see, one of the groups I study with recently upped the amount of writing they want me to do, so stuff might make it up here.