Reiki History and Origin

The origin of Reiki can be traced back to ancient Tibet, thousands of years ago. This technique was re-discovered in the mid 1800's by Dr. Mikao Usui of Japan.

The tradition of Reiki was an oral one, and was passed on by master to master and student by word of mouth. The story most likely has been dramatically embellished by each storyteller over the years to emphasize the wonder and beauty of the legend of Dr. Usui. The following is the story as we and others have heard it.

In the year of 1822 in the City of Kyoto, Japan, Dr. Mikao Usui (a Christian Minister) was giving a sermon. After the service, two seminary students asked him to explain how Jesus did the miracles of healing, and furthermore, whether or not he could perform those same miracles. Dr. Usui was not able to give the students an answer of 'yes'. He felt that he understood the Bible intellectually, but he did not understand how Jesus healed.

This marked the beginning of Dr. Usui's lifelong quest to uncover the source of ancient healing techniques. He left Japan, came to America and studied at the University of Chicago. During his stay in the United States, he earned a Doctorate degree in Theology. He searched the scriptures to try to uncover the secret of how Jesus and his disciples healed the sick and performed miracles, but he did not find the answers he sought during this time in the United States.

Upon his return to Japan, it occurred to Dr. Usui that the Buddha had performed the same type of miracles as Jesus. He, too, had healed the sick and had a great control of energy. He channelled the power of God and the Universe. Dr. Usui began asking the different Buddhistic sects if they could perform the miracles that Buddha performed: Could they heal the body? The Buddhists felt that healing of the Spirit and healing of the body were not always directly connected. They concentrated on the Spirit, and not on the body. They left the healing of the body to those in the healing arts. Finally Dr. Usui went to a Zen monastery. He asked the same question of the head monk: "Do the Zen know how to heal the body?" The monk explained that they were concentrating heavily on healing the spirit and there just was not time to teach the physical healing of the body.

Dr. Usui requested that he be admitted to the Zen monastery so that he could study the Buddhist scriptures, the sutras, in search of the key to healing. He was admitted and so began his study.

Dr. Usui first studied the Japanese translations of the Buddhist scriptures but did not find the explanation he sought. Then he learned Chinese so that a wider range of Buddhist writings were available to him, but still without success.

He was guided, though his meditations, to learn Sanskrit so that he could read the original Buddhist writings and have access to those writings that had never been translated into another language. After mastering the language of the Sanskrit he began reading the teachings of the Tibetan Buddhistic sect. From those writings, Dr. Usui found the symbols, formulas, and description of how Buddha healed.

And so, at the end of his long search, Dr. Usui had found what he sought, but not quite. Although he believed he had uncovered the knowledge, he still did not have the power to heal. He discussed this with his old friend, the monk; they meditated upon the path to take. They were told that Dr. Usui should go to a designated place upon the holy Mount Kuri Yama. There he was to fast for twenty-one days and meditate, to seek the power to heal; during this time he would receive enlightenment and Spiritual clarity.

Dr. Usui climbed Kuri Yama to a certain level and found a place that faced east. Since he had no calendar, he gathered twenty-one small stones and placed them before him. Every morning he awakened before the sun rose and would throw away one of the twenty-one stones to keep count of the days.

Each day he meditated and fasted. On the twenty-first day, Dr. Usui awakened to a darkened morning. It was like a new-moon day, when no light shone in the heavens before the breaking of dawn. When he awakened he could not even see his hand in front of his face. He found his way to his meditation spot and picked up the last stone. Dr. Usui prayed before throwing the last stone off the side of the mountain. He asked God for confirmation of his findings and asked to be given the enlightenment of how to use it.

As he threw the stone off the side of the mountain, a light appeared far off in the east. It began getting brighter and coming closer to him. It frightened him and he wanted to run away. He thought to himself, "You have searched for years and years, and you have meditated and fasted for twenty one days. You have asked for enlightenment and confirmation, and now you want to run away from it?" So Dr. Usui quieted his intellect and said, "No, if that light is for me, I accept the enlightenment."

The light became very bright and streamed across the heavens and hit him directly in his third eye. For a moment he thought he had died and ascended into heaven, because he had never before been in such a euphoric state. He saw many, many bubbles in all the colours of the rainbow. Then came the powerful, bright white light, followed by golden Sanskrit letters, the secret formula of the Universal Life Force and how to contact it. They came to him one by one, commanding him to memorise and preserve them. Finally the bubbles, the light and the Sanskrit letters had come and gone. Dr. Usui felt rested, full of life and energy.

Dr. Usui jumped to his feet. He wanted to hurry back and tell the monk of his exciting news. In his rush he stubbed his toe on a rock. He reached down to comfort the pain and to stop the bleeding. He found that the pain and the bleeding quit very rapidly. He realised that something was different about the energy in his hands; they had become very hot. After healing his toe, Dr. Usui continued his pilgrimage down the mountain.

Soon he began to feel hungry, so he stopped at a home that served travellers and ordered cold rice and cold teas. In a few moments, a Japanese girl, with a bandage wrapped around her jaw, brought Dr. Usui his meal. She told Dr. Usui that her tooth had been aching for days. Encouraged by his own phenomenal pain relief, Dr Usui asked, "May I give you a healing?" She accepted his offer gladly. He put his hands around her jaw and within a short period of time the pain and swelling started going down. She was very happy and went to tell her father.

Dr. Usui ate his meal and then went to pay the papa san. He reached into his pocket to get some coins, but the papa san said, "Thank you, sir monk, but I cannot accept the money. You have rendered unto my daughter a service for which I do not have the money to pay. Please accept the food in exchange for the healing services that you rendered." And Dr. Usui accepted the food in exchange for his services as a healing channel.

Upon returning to Kyoto, he went to tell his friend, the monk, what had happened. He asked for advice on what he should do now that he had received the keys and the energy of healing. He wanted to learn more about its use and how to develop it. Dr. Usui was directed by the monk to meditate on it.

From his meditation, Dr. Usui was guided to go to the beggar kingdom in Tokyo. This kingdom was controlled by a beggar king. So Dr. Usui went to see the beggar king and asked if he might live there to heal the sick and the afflicted. The beggar king admitted him, but did not believe Dr. Usui would succeed in healing the beggars.

For the next seven years, Dr. Usui worked on healing the sick in the beggar kingdom. He worked from daylight to dark, healing the young and old alike and saw many beautiful results take place. He began to understand how Reiki flowed through him into the healee, and how the body became well.

One afternoon Dr. Usui took a walk to the edge of the beggar kingdom. He saw a young beggar who looked familiar. Finally, Dr. Usui asked if the beggar knew him, and the beggar said, "Of course, Dr. Usui, I know you. Do you not remember me? I am one of the first beggars that you healed."

Dr. Usui said, "I healed you and you are still a beggar?" The beggar looked back at him and said, "Oh, Dr. Usui, yes, and I did just what you told me. I went out to the temple to receive a new name, went into society and began dealing with my karma, doing just what you told me to do. I even got a job and soon married, but it was too much responsibility. So, I decided that I would rather be a beggar. That way I wouldn't even have to be responsible for myself."

Dr. Usui was greatly upset, and thought "What a terrible thing I have done. Perhaps the churches were right - the physical is not enough - the spiritual has to also be healed. Never again will Reiki be given away - always there will have to be an exchange of energy." He decided to immediately leave the beggar kingdom.

As he walked back to the monastery, Dr. Usui was greeted, in Spirit, by the teachers who had greeted him on Kuri Yama. At this time he was given the Five Spiritual Principles of Reiki by the teachers:

• Just for Today -
•     Do not Worry
•     Do not Anger
•     Honour your Parents, Teachers and Elders
•     Earn your living Honestly
•     Show Gratitude to every living thing

These five principles created significant changes in the subsequent healings of Dr. Usui. He realised that he had been giving healing away without requiring the healee to take any responsibility whatsoever. Also, there had not been an exchange of energy for the services rendered. The new teaching provided spiritual concepts to be integrated with the physical aspect of the Reiki energy.

Dr. Chujiro Hayashi

Dr. Usui got a torch and lit it, and went walking in Kyoto. He was stopped and asked why he was carrying a lit torch in the middle of the day with the sun shining so brightly. He replied that he was searching for people with a heart full of love and with enlightened hearts, but who are sad and sorrowful and do not know the true Light . He invited the people to come and hear about Reiki. In this way he started teaching Reiki throughout Japan and gathered a following of sixteen teachers. Dr Usui made his transition about 1893, after asking Dr. Chujiro Hayashi to see the Reiki teachings were preserved.

Dr. Hayashi continued in Dr. Usui's tradition, travelling, teaching and dedicating his life to Reiki. He trained two Japanese women. One of these teachers stayed in Japan. The other, Mrs. Hawayo Takata, of Hawaii, was made a Reiki Master in 1938, prior to Dr. Hayashi's death. Mrs. Takata was instrumental in spreading the teachings of Reiki to the United States and Canada.

Today it is estimated that there are well over one hundred Reiki Masters in the world. These individuals dedicate and commit their lives to living, being and perpetuating this universal life force Reiki. The honour of assisting in the harmony and balance of the universe and providing others with a means of balancing their body, mind and spirit is what Reiki Masters are ordained to do. With almost Six billion beings on this planet, there is a vital need for more Reiki Masters in service to mankind and to this universe, so that all who desire Reiki training may receive it.