
REIKI RUMOURS:
Truth, Secrets
& Lies
or
"Towards
a Conspiracy Theorist's version of the 'New' Reiki History"
Copyright ©
2005/7 James Deacon
[Last update: Mar. 06, 2007]
FOR
A PRINTABLE, PDF-FORMAT VERSION OF THIS DOCUMENT, CLICK HERE
Unconfirmed
Reports from 'Unnamed Sources':
#
.. ... Reiki really did die
out in Japan?
In
1997 - as part of an attempt to establish a licensing system,
reflecting standardisation and quality of practice and training
throughout the Usui Shiki Ryoho community - Phyllis Furumoto (Grand-daughter
of Hawayo Takata, and viewed as 'lineage bearer' by the Reiki
Alliance) was seeking to Trademark several Reiki-related terms
including 'Usui Shiki Ryoho', Reiki', and 'the Usui System', worldwide.
If successful, this would mean that no one would be able to use
these terms to describe their therapeutic practice or teaching
without licensed permission.
However - concerned about the effects on their 'Reiki Franchising'
businesses (should Ms Furumoto be successful in her attempt) -
a cabal of unnamed 'International' Reiki Businessmen, began to
hatch an ingenious scheme in an attempt to subvert her plans....
"What if we could somehow make people believe that Reiki
hadn't died out in Japan after all" someone had suggested,
"what if we could 'prove' Reiki was 'alive and kicking' (or
should that be: 'alive and healing'?) in Japan.
I mean, if Reiki had survived in Japan, then Ms Furumoto's
claims of right to exclusive use of these terms would surely be
invalidated - we would have 'proof' that the various Reiki-related
terms have been used continuously to refer to Usui's art outside
of Takata's/Furumoto's lineage and therefore that Ms Furumoto
and her Reiki Alliance would have no grounds for laying claim
to them."
"But if Reiki had survived, surely people would know
about it?"
"Not necessarily - not if, say, it had gone underground -
y'know, like those secret societies in Europe..."
"But what about tangible evidence?"
"Well, for a start, anyone recall hearing about that little
Japanese booklet Takata had - gave copies to a few of her master-level
students"
"Oh yeah, wasn't it supposed to be some sort of series of
treatment guidelines, written by Hayashi? Yeah, I remember now,
I heard none of Takata's students ever bothered with it - probably
thought it too much effort to get it translated - most probably
just shelved it and forgot about it."
"Or gave it away" said another, "to, ehem"
- pretending to clear his throat - "their favorite student."
"You don't mean...?
"Yep, yours truly! I've got a genuine piece of Reiki heritage
(probably the only genuine piece of Reiki heritage) and
the best thing is, hardly anyone seems to be aware of the booklet's
existence."
"So, y'mean-"
"Yep, we can say that by pure serendipity, we discovered
it in a secondhand bookshop in Japan."
"Or perhaps", someone else suggested, "that we
were presented with a copy of it by a member of some obscure
Japanese Reiki group..."
"Yeah, I like that!"
"Oh, and I'm sure we could also fabricate a few documents.
Perhaps a few pages purporting to be from an early training manual,
or a couple of magazine articles..."
"Actually, I knew a guy once, faked a whole magazine just
so he could claim he had discovered an article in it - stroke
of genius really, gave the magazine an obscure title and claimed
it had been privately published with only a small circulation;
of course it had conveniently ceased to be printed soon after
the desired article was published!"
"Yes; and I suppose we could 'make contact' with a few of
Usui-sensei's original students - how old would they have to be
- to still be alive today?
That old? Really?
Oh, that is old!
Hmm, maybe not then - though we could always suggest the possibility
of making such contact to someone else..."
"A living student (or two) of Hayashi's, though", someone
had suggested, "now that would be more believable,
wouldn't it?"
"And...and... what if this 'survival' of Reiki in Japan was
subtly different from Reiki as practiced in the West? We could
'rediscover' a whole series of techniques to help re-strengthen
the Reiki energy-flow. (I mean, lets face it, ever since we started
making alterations to Takata's initiation process, you've got
to admit, something has been lacking)
We could maybe modify a few practices from that Chinese Chi Gung
book I was reading last week - just need to get someone to translate
their names into Japanese..."
"Oh, I can do that - studied Japanese Language and Classics
at College - I'll do the translation of Hayashi's booklet also"
"Ah, another thought! Besides not knowing about Hayashi's
booklet, from what I've seen, with all the modifications that
are continuously being made ( - much of it by Takata's own master-level
students -) very few of the newer 'generations' of Reiki masters
seem even to be aware of precisely what it was that Takata really
taught.
(Lets face it, with all the focus on 'Reiki Guides', and crystals
and 'Higher Selves', and chakras and stuff that we keep adding,
Takata herself might be hardpressed to recognise her teachings
amongst what passes for Usui Shiki Ryoho today!).
So what I was thinking was this - we extract some of the particular
elements of Takata's original practices, oh, like that thing she
did for changing bad habits, and the 'group treatment', and the
'Reiki finish' - that sort of thing - maybe modify them slightly
- our friend here with his Japanese Language and Classics degree
can give them some nice new 'old' names and we can present them
as 'original' individual techniques - still practiced in Japan,
but for some strange reason, missing from Reiki as we know it
in the West."
"Good, good.
Now, there is something else that's been bothering me lately.
It's this whole thing about Usui being a Christian Minister.
To be honest, it's just not... well... fashionable.
I've noticed lately - the majority of folk who turn up at my Reiki
classes are very much 'New Agey' types - and, y'know, when I start
recounting the 'Reiki Story', well as soon as I mention the whole
'Christian' thing, I can see the uneasiness on peoples faces -
seems to make some folk uncomfortable - embarrassed even - one
or two actually star fidgeting in their seats. So far, no-one
has got up and walked out, but..."
"Yeah,
well I suppose there's lots of folk, specially some of the younger
ones, been trying to get away from what they see as the 'dogmatic
control' of a Christian upbringing - that's often why they get
into New Age stuff in the first place."
"Suppose
so, but what's to be done about it? I'm becoming concerned it
might begin to effect the number of folk who want to sign up for
my courses. This 'Christian' element could prove to be bad for
business."
"Indeed.
Though...
I wonder... I heard somewhere that one Reiki master - forget who
- wrote to the place where the 'Reiki Story' says Usui was a Minister
- looking for background info, y'know - but he was told Usui had
never even been there. (Whether they meant he definitely
hadn't been there, or just that there are no surviving records
to prove he was there, I'm not sure - must have been a heck of
a lot of records lost in the incendiary bombing-raids in WWII)
- but.... well I'm thinking, could we somehow play on this to
our advantage?"
"Not
sure if I understand."
"Well,
if we present it as though it was a definite fact - that
Usui wasn't a Minister at the place - then maybe we can
also take it just that bit further, and say that he wasn't actually
a Minister at all - not even a Christian at all?
That somehow, over time, the story got confused..."
"Or
maybe got intentionally altered for some reason?"
"Good
- I like that! Yes, intentionally altered... but why? Oh,
I suppose we can come up with something half-way plausible if
we give it some thought, don't you?"
"Sure. But if we get rid of the 'Christian' thing, are we
going to put something else in its place?"
"How
about we say Usui was a Buddhist? Most of these New Age folks
seem familiar with (and comfortable with) Buddhism - and it does
mention Buddhism in the story already..."
"Yes,
that would work. I don't suppose it matters really. Just as long
as we're all - what's that old expression...'singing from the
same hymn sheet'?"
"Hah,
or in this case, shouldn't that be 'Chanting from the same sutra'!
OK, Buddhism it is then. We're agreed."
"Now, if we're claiming Usui was a Buddhist, wouldn't that
possibly have been reflected in his Reiki teachings?"
"Hmm - oh yeah, I didn't think 'bout that - anyone know anything
about Japanese Buddhism?"
"No, not really, but I've heard of Zen of course - and aren't
there supposed to be several other types as well?
We'd have to check up on that."
"Shouldn't be too difficult.
I quite like this notion of our 'original' Reiki teachings reflecting
some elements of Buddhism - I suppose we could incorporate something
about 'non-attachment', or 'mindfulness' - possibly a genuine
Japanese Buddhist meditation or two, that sort of thing?"
"Yeah
sure. But what if we take it a step further?"
"Explain?"
"Well,
I'm thinking - back when Takata was teaching, people were satisfied
with learning Reiki for what it was then - and always had
been - a simple, focussed and effective healing method. But as
we all know, ever since Reiki 'escaped into the wilds' of the
New Age community, there has been an ever increasing demand for
our Reiki courses to be 'spiced up' with endless 'add-ons', haphazardly
adopted-in from all manner of different mystical and spiritual
traditions...."
"So?"
"So,
how about we ditch all the existing 'add-ons' - all the
talk of chakras, and guides, and crystals and stuff - and focus
instead on incorporating a whole bunch of new add-ons -
ones more specifically related to Buddhism. After all, Mrs. Takata
said Usui found the keys to Reiki Healing in a Buddhist Sutra.
So we could claim that these new add-ons are really 're-discovered'
elements of the original teachings; may be something about
how we've discovered that in the early days, Reiki was not simply
a healing practice, but also, a Buddhist-inspired
system of personal spiritual development. This way, we could add
a whole new dimension to our training courses."
"Brilliant!
That will really whet the jaded appetites of the 'Reiki-buying
public'. But it could take quite a bit of research to come up
with enough material to pad out the system in this way."
"Well, I believe I might just have an answer to that one.
My son's got a big stack of those Japanese - (now, what do they
call them? oh that's it) 'manga' comic books - full of tales of
Mystics and Ninjas and Buddhist Monks.
Y'know the sort of thing - obscure esoteric Buddhist beliefs,
secret practices, healing powers, mystic gestures, martial arts
abilities, magic spells (which I think the boy called 'jumon'
or something?), and a plethora of 'Buddhist Deities'.
I'm sure we could get a few ideas from these comic books, y'know
- esoteric symbolism, meditation practices, and so on. Mix 'em
in with the 'repackaged' Takata practices, and a few of the 're-branded'
Chi Gung exercises you mentioned earlier - and hey presto!"
"Ah,
splendid! Hmm, that reminds me - I was watching a documentary
on TV a few months back - about these groups of Japanese ascetics
who head off up into the mountains to meditate and stuff - something
called Shog gi.... ah, no, I mean Shugendo.
I think this was also somehow tied in with Japanese Buddhism -
but the documentary was mainly focussing on how it borrowed heavily
from Shinto folk-practices; maybe we could kinda blend a few elements
from this Shugendo into the mix as well?"
"Sure.
I don't see why not."
"Hmm,
just a thought, but it might be prudent not to, as they say: 'put
all our eggs in one basket'.
I mean, if we go exclusively down the route of of 'Reiki
is a Buddhist-inspired system of healing and self development',
well where would that leave us, if say - at some point in the
future - Buddhism should fall out of favour with the Reiki-buying
masses. Y'know - just like Christianity - cease to be fashionable?
"Right;
yeah, good point"
"So,
could we perhaps claim that there were in fact several different
forms or expressions of Reiki? Oh, something to the effect
that, over the years, different Masters had - for whatever reasons
- evolved Reiki in somewhat different directions?
That, even today, there are actually a number of different
styles of Reiki in Japan?"
"Yes,
wonderful!
This way we can develop this whole Buddhist-Reiki thing - with
all the necessary esoteric 'bells and whistles' - and at
the same time, still promote a 'secular' version, with
the primary focus on simple therapeutic practice (with, of course,
its own, secular set of 'bells and whistles'), for
those who simply want a mumbo-jumbo-free healing method."
"Good,
so it's agreed. Several different styles it is then."
"OK,
so, continuing with the theme of diverse forms of expression of
Reiki - and I realise now, maybe this might be taking things a
bit too far, but, d'you think we could possibly get away with
claiming that, say, in the very beginning, Usui's teachings
were purely about spiritual development?
Nothing to do with a healing method at all?"
"Huh?"
"Well,
its just that ... well... y'see the whole idea of Reiki is great
an' everything, but I really don't get on well with being
around sick people - don't like touching them - don't even like
being in the same room as them (in fact I'm sure that,
of late, I'm becoming a bit phobic).
Obviously, becoming a Master meant that I didn't have to bother
about actually treating folk - much easier (and financially
more rewarding) just to run the occasional seminar - but lately
I'm finding that too many people want to experience the efficacy
of Reiki before signing up for training, and they expect me
to give them healing sessions. So I was just thinking it might
be nice to shift the focus completely away from healing, and just
concentrate instead on this 'spiritual development' notion?
"I've
got to admit, it's a novel approach."
"I
suppose you might find a niche in the Reiki-market
for it. You'll never know until you try it"
"Yes,
well.... so, anyone else got any other thoughts or ideas?"
"Yeah,
just one: what if, after all this, Ms Furumoto still manages
to get worldwide Trademark on the various Reiki-related terms
- what then?"
"Hm,
yes, good point. We could do with some form of contingency plan..."
"I
think I've got an idea. We could perhaps say that Reiki wasn't
always known as Reiki or Usui Shiki Ryoho - that
it was originally called, oh - something like 'Usui's Hand Treatment
Method' or 'Usui's Way (of Healing)' - only in Japanese of course.
Perhaps we could say it actually had different names at
different times. And if we can popularise this idea, well then
even if the word Reiki itself becomes trademarked - well,
we'll still be able to practice it (and more importantly,
teach it) - but under an one or more alternative names
that people will have by then become familiar with."
"I
like it!"
"Ah, just think of the possibilities (for that matter,
the financial opportunities - training seminars, conferences,
books, videos!)"
"Actually, why didn't we come up with this idea years ago..."
But for all its cunning, this cabal of Reiki Businessmen forgot
that the Japanese are masters of taking an idea, improving on
it and re-exporting it to a world hungry for new innovation...
*
* * * *
# ... .. Famous Students - and
Usui Reiki Ryoho?
As
a result of endless requests from their gaijin (foreign)
counterparts, several Japanese practitioners of imported Takata-style
Reiki had decided to do a little research into the Japanese origins
of the art (even though they had no real interest in these origins
themselves - they only wanted to know about 'proper' Reiki
- from America!).
In the main, they had been unable to find any reference to Mikao
Usui, let alone actual detailed information about him and
his healing practices. However, in the course of their research
efforts, a couple of them had discovered information about
other healers who were around in the early part of the
20th century - and quite a substantial amount of information at
that.
It was a pity they hadn't found anything about Usui, but it would
also be a pity if this other information they had uncovered
was simply allowed to go to waste...
"Well,
I suppose we could always pretend that some of these other healers
- like, for instance, that guy Eguchi Toshihiro, or even Tomita
Kaiji - were friends or associates of Usui Mikao?"
"Maybe
even students of his?"
"Hmm,
yes - that might just work. Then we could take some of their ideas,
methodologies, perhaps a few specific techniques - mix them into
the Reiki we've learnt from the west, and tell the gaijin
..."
"You
mean SELL the gaijin ...!!"
"Ha!
yes, sell the gaijin a seminar in newly rediscovered
'Early Reiki' practice."
"Good.
Good. But we can't actually call it 'Early Reiki', can we? We
need to come up with a suitable name - and we can't just call
it Usui Shiki Ryoho either."
"Ooh,
I've just thought of something. I was talking with a Reiki guy
from Yokohama a while back. Someone in America gave him a tape
recording of a lecture given in the 1970's by Mrs. Takata. (He
learnt English at college so he could understand most of it)"
"So?"
"So
- I remember him telling me that there is one point on the tape
where Mrs. Takata refers to Usui's methods, not as 'Usui Shiki
Ryoho' as is normal, but as 'Usui Reiki Ryoho'. Well,
we could call our new 'old' Reiki practices 'Usui Reiki Ryoho'.
"Yes,
'Usui Reiki Ryoho', I like the sound of that."
"Great,
'Usui Reiki Ryoho' it is then."
"And
if the seminars are successful, we could perhaps set up a society
to oversee the training?"
"A
Usui Reiki Ryoho Society? A Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai - hmm,
wait a minute - this gives me another idea..."
#
... .. Japanese Reiki seminars
"But
we really need something to present to the gaijin very
soon - before their interest wanes. How long do you think its
going to take us to construct a comprehensive 'Usui Reiki Ryoho'
system - I mean, it has to be believable, we can't afford
to mess up - we'll probably only have one chance at this.
We really need to get it right first time"
"Or
do we?"
"What
do you mean?"
"Well,
we could set up a few initial 'introductory' seminars - tell them
that what we teach is actually a blend of western Usui
Shiki Ryoho and native Usui Reiki Ryoho. And if
we sell it just right, they'll be so eager to take the training
that they wont even realise the seminar content is - oh, say -
something like 85% re-hashed western Reiki and about 15%
beliefs and practices drawn from other non-Reiki healing arts
from the Meiji- and early Taisho-eras."
"Great
idea! That way we'd have a basic system to work with and build
on - it would give us time to see what else we can - to use that
gaijin phrase - 'MacGyver' together for more 'advanced'
training - and if by some fluke we do happen to discover
any real info about early native Reiki practices, well
we can incorporate that too"
"Yeah,
I like that! Just the sort of flexibility we need."
"Exactly.
And this way, just to get things moving, all we would need to
do is simply modify some things from western Reiki, add in bits
here and there from those other healing systems and flesh the
whole thing out with some historical and cultural references -
oh, lets say about the changes wrought as a result of the Meiji
Restoration - y'know, 'Last Days of the Samurai', and all that.
The gaijin love all that old 'bygone era' stuff."
"And
how about this: as well as mentioning those other healers, we
can maybe also drop in a few other famous names - y'know,
people from Usui Mikao's time - suggest some vague connections
between them - nothing specific though, y'know - nothing easily
checkable.
I mean, we could say something about how he knew - oh, for example
- Ueshiba Morihei, the founder of Aikido; and people like that..."
"How
about if we claim Usui Mikao was also involved with martial
arts?"
"Aikido
maybe - it would tie in nicely if we want people to believe he
and Ueshiba knew each other, wouldn't it?"
"No,
that won't work, Ueshiba didn't even use the term Aikido until
the 1940's"
"Oh,
right - well how about some older martial art -something
not too many people will have heard of?
"I've
got a friend who practices ... I think its called yagyu ryu
(or is it yagyu shinkage ryu?) - something like that -
anyhow, its not very well known and it's definitely been
around since long before Usui's day. We could say he was highly
skilled in yagyu - even an instructor?"
"Or
perhaps - well, Ueshiba trained in daito ryu and aikijutsu
- could we just tell people that Usui studied these?"
"How
about we play the 'vague card' ?"
"Huh?"
"I
mean, what if we claim that Usui was a skilled martial
artist, but that this element of the history is still a little
unclear - that we're not absolutely sure as to which art
he was skilled in? We could say
that there are some conflicting opinions - that some 'sources'
say he did... what was it, ah yes, yagyu ryu, others think
it might have been a combination of daito ryu and aikijutsu?"
"Yes,
that would work! In an odd way it might even add a sense
of credibility to the tale..."
"But
are we maybe getting a little side-tracked here - wont we need
more 'content', for this new 'Usui Reiki Ryoho' system itself
I mean?"
"Yes,
well, I suppose we could always use the old line about how at
this time we have only been given permission to reveal certain
facets of the 'original' system to foreigners - but say that if
they prove worthy students, we might be given permission to teach
them more...
"Ah,
quite so - with, of course, a few vague hints as to what that
'more' might entail...!"
"Of
course! Well we gotta keep their interest. What's that expression
they have: 'Always leave them wanting more!'... "
#
... .. Symbols and their meanings?
"So,
anyone got any idea as to what the Reiki symbols really
mean? - ask me about the Tibetan Mani-mantra and the meaning of
its shuji, or even about European omajinai [magic]
symbolism, and I'm OK - but I don't know much about all that old
boring homegrown spiritual stuff from Taisho and Meiji
period.
Take this 'power' symbol for example, The only CKR I'm aware of
is an Imperial Edict - we know it can't be anything to do with
that."
"Well,
I suppose we could let people think it has something to
do with an Imperial Edict - just be vague about it - then if we
can find out what it is really about we wont have actually
told anyone that the Imperial Edict stuff was a fact."
"Hmm, maybe"
"Or
perhaps we could get round the whole thing by saying that the
symbols aren't used any more in native Reiki?"
"Yeah,
I like that - maybe even something about how, originally, they
weren't really that central to the system at all?"
"Oh
- or better still, like maybe that originally they weren't even
part of the system at all - but added later, for
some reason - I'm sure we can think of some scenario, in time..."
#
... .. Gakkai
"And what about this 'Reiki Society' idea - anyone got any
thoughts?"
"Well,
um, perhaps. I suppose its safe for us to claim Hayashi Chujiro
was part of it?"
"I
guess"
"And
maybe those two healers you mentioned, who were they again? Right,
Tomita, and Eguchi."
"Well,
yes, but we better only mention them in passing - we don't want
to fall into the trap of claiming something that can be easily
disproved - there is probably a lot more known about them than
we're aware of."
"And
what about the Society itself - its structure, etc.?"
"Well, for the present we can always go with the old 'suspicious
of outsiders - especially gaijin' ploy. That will save
us a lot of work in the short term.
Then I suppose in time, as we gradually develop a suitable background-story
- well who knows, perhaps the society will begin to see the error
of its isolationist ways, and begin, little by little, to share
some of its inner teachings (albeit, newly created ones!) with
our gaijin cousins...!"
"While
we're on the subject, I do have a few ideas we could perhaps use
- stuff I learnt about those Shumei people - y'know one
of the organisations who practice Johrei healing?"
"Like
what?"
"Well,
I was reading a little about their structure - I think
we could maybe borrow a few things from it.
Like: the head of the organisation is referred to as a 'president'
or kaicho.
Recently, the kaicho was a woman named Koyama - though
I'm not sure if she has retired now.
They have regular meetings at which they give and receive healing.
And if I remember correctly - I'm pretty sure its these folk -
they use some kind of blessing practice called reiju -
we should look into this, I've a feeling might be useful.
Oh, yes, before I forget - their practices also include chanting.
They use some norito prayers, but they also chant poems
written by their founder. They have a collection of them, the
Miakarishu: often referred to as the 'little blue book'..."
"Slow
down a moment, will you - I'm just making some notes. kaicho...
Koyama... retired... regular meetings… and what was that,
ah, yes, reiju... some form of blessing ceremony, you say?
D'you think we could somehow incorporate this into the Reiki Initiation
process?"
"Wait
- what if we present this reiju thing as an alternative
to the Initiation process - that would surely get the gaijin's
interest!"
"Yes,
yes, excellent idea! Now what was the other thing you were saying
- that was it, chanting. Yes, I like the idea of chanting. Ah,
but how long would it take to create a selection of poetry 'written'
by Usui Mikao?
Wait a minute though - "the little blue book", you say"?
I've got a 'little blue book' of poems, and a very famous one
at that: the poems of Meiji Tenno..."
"So,
what... we're going to persuade the gaijin to recite the
Meiji emperor's poetry while they practice Reiki...!
Hah!
Well, if you really think it will work…
Oh,
OK, sure, why not...
Heck, next you'll be trying to persuade them that Usui actually
died as a result of a stroke in 1926…"
*****
"Never
Let the Facts Get in the Way of a Good Story":
#
Tales of Intrigue and Imagination
Over
the last decade or so, we have been regaled with numerous Reiki-tales
of Intrigue (and more than a little Imagination, I
feel):
Tales of extremely long-lived Buddhist nuns who had conveniently
worked with Usui-Sensei during the 1920's…
Tales
of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai: legendary 'keepers of the
flame' of Original Reiki (yet apparently no longer teaching some
of the things Usui Sensei taught, and apparently also teaching
things he didn't)…
Tales
of chance meetings with students of Hayashi-sensei…
Rumours
of a hidden shrine (housing some of Usui-sensei's ashes, and the
original handwritten version of the Reiki Principles) - its location
known only to an honoured few…
Accounts
of 'Secret Usui Diaries' and other Reiki-related documents - locked
away in a Japanese Temple - and how, by sheer good fortune, access
to them had been granted to one particular Reiki practitioner
and martial artist, who of course (all too conveniently, some
might say) wasn't allowed to xerox them, photo them, make written
notes, etc, etc…
Yet
other accounts of 'Secret Usui Diaries' and other Reiki-related
documents - though this time, claimed to have been discovered
in a box, conveniently purchased from some Japanese monks after
WWII, by the father of the Reiki practitioner in question…
Tales
of how, as an exchange-student in Japan, one 'antipodean' teenager
had supposedly been trained by the Shihan of the Kyoto branch
of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai [even though the particular individual
had not even been to Japan as an exchange-student]…
Other
tales of a group of Taoist Qi Gung students and their fortuitous
encounter on a Moroccan beach in 1971 with a septuagenarian Japanese
'hippie' - who just happened to be a student of Toshihiro
Eguchi, and who was of course also willing to train them in the
original system as taught by Usui-sensei…
Then
there were claims that Reiki was based on a Tibetan Tantric Buddhist
text, supposedly part of a cache of Buddhist documents brought
to Japan by the founder of Shingon Buddhism (- at a time before
Tantric Buddhism - originating in India - had even arrived
in Tibet)…
There
were also claims that Usui-sensei's development of Reiki Ryoho
had been strongly influenced by the Sonten-worshipping
'Kurama-Kokyo' sect who occupy the temple on Mount Kurama
[- even though this particular sect did not take possession of
the Kurama temple until nearly a quarter of a century after
Usui-sensei's passing]…
Yet others claimed that Reiki came originally from China…
That
the Reiki Principles had probably been composed by the Meiji Emperor…
That
there were really only three Usui Reiki Symbols, not four…
Then
there were people, with Tendai Buddhist's leanings, claiming:
"Usui Sensei was Tendai Buddhist"...
There
have been others, with Shingon leanings, claiming: "Usui
Sensei was Shingon Buddhist"...
Practitioners
of Taoist arts claiming: "Usui Sensei taught Taoist energy-work"...
People
familiar with the Shinto-based practice of Kotodama claiming:
"Usui Sensei taught Kotodama"...
Martial
artists claiming: "Usui Sensei was a high level martial arts
practitioner"...
- the list goes on and on...
"The
secret to being a good storyteller lies in the ability
to seamlessly blend truth and fiction together
- to convincing and emotionally-engaging effect"
*
* * * *
Go
in search of 'Original' Reiki, you will find what you want to
find...
#
. .. .More than Three Degrees
?
The
first known Reiki practitioner to go to Japan in the mid 1980's
in an attempt to discover something about the origins of Reiki
had been trained, not in Usui Shiki Ryoho, but rather in
a modified form of Reiki (to all intents and purposes,
the first 'new' style of Reiki to appear in over 40 years) - taught
by one of Takata-sensei's students: Barbara Webber Ray.
One of the primary differences between Ray's version of Reiki
and Usui Shiki Ryoho was that training in the former was spread
over more than the 'standard' three levels found in Usui
Shiki Ryoho
Was
it then simply mere coincidence that this Reiki practitioner
- having begun to teach this modified form of Reiki while in Japan
(and in doing so, no doubt also mentioning the multi-level
structure of the system) - was told by those professing to 'know'
that original Usui Reiki also had more than three
levels?
*****
#
.. ... Attune again?
In
Takata-sensei's day an attunement was a one-off event. You received
attunement to level one, then possibly some time later, to level
two, and in the case of 22 particular students, level three. Once
you were attuned to a level, you were attuned - for keeps. Attunement
was permanent, and it didn't 'fade', need 'topping up' or have
an expiration date. But over time, there were western Reiki Masters
who had begun experimenting with the idea of 'repeat attunements'.
The evolving theory supposedly being that repeating the
process would (besides no doubt providing them with an opportunity
for making some extra cash) result in a 'deepening of the quality'
of the student's connection to Reiki.
And then (will the Reiki coincidences never end?) - imagine these
Reiki Masters' surprise when they discovered (from someone claiming
to be in contact with an 'Original Japanese Reiki' source) that,
apparently, Usui-Sensei didn't use a one-time-only attunement
process - but rather, used something called reiju - which
he gave to students on a regular basis - over and over again,
with the intent of 'deepening of the quality' of the student's
connection to Reiki...
*****
#
. .... Auspicious Cloud? Or how
CKR got its 'true' name...
One
day, at a seminar run by a Japanese Reiki Master, one of several
foreign students
began asking questions about the meaning of the term CKR. However,
for some time the Master himself has secretly been puzzling over
this (he had mistakenly understood the name of the symbol to refer
to an 'Imperial Decree' and had tried unsuccessfully to find a
way to tie this in to the symbol's Reiki usage). It wouldn't look
to good if he said he didn't actually know - especially as he
claimed to have 'inside information', so-to-speak, about Usui-sensei's
original teachings. So, in an attempt to 'save face', he decided
to 'accidentally' let slip that CKR wasn't actually the symbol's
true name at all, and in doing so hopefully divert the
wide-eyed student's focus from a question he didn't know the answer
to.
However, not having interacted with that many gaijin, the
master was not used to (what to Japanese sensibilities is viewed
as) the big, loud, 'in your face' - and impolite - manner of many
westerners.
Thus,
he was somewhat taken aback by the demanding tones in which a
number of the students pressed him to reveal this (nonexistent)
'true' name he had alluded to.
Hurriedly trying to come up with a name, but failing to do so,
his eyes alighted on the small table where a few sticks of Japanese
aloeswood incense currently smouldered in a small wooden holder.
Also lying on the table was the incense box. The name on the lid
read: Zuiun ('Auspicious Cloud'). Smiling to himself with
relief, The Japanese Reiki Master turned to look at the group.
'Zuiun' he said. The true name of this symbol is: 'Zuiun' ...
*****
#
. .... Mikao Usui not actually
Tendai Buddhist at all?
When
it was discovered that Takata sensei's story about Mikao Usui
being a Christian Minister at Doshisha University was inaccurate,
it was decided (by those who professed to know the 'truth') that
he must have therefore been a Buddhist. But what type of Buddhist?
On the Usui Memorial there was mention
of the experience on Mount Kurama (: 'kurama yama' - though
Takata Sensei had called it koriyama).
It didn't take much to discover that prior to WWII the Temple
at Kurama belonged to the Tendai sect - and 'hey presto'
- for no other reason than the fact Kurama Yama was under Tendai
control during the time he had the 'Reiki experience' there,
Mikao Usui was suddenly a Tendai Buddhist!!
Foolproof, except for one small detail - his ashes are interred
in a grave at the Saihoji Temple in Tokyo - a temple belonging
to the Pure Land sect...
# . .... Usui Memorial a Modern-day
Fake?
An
unnamed, retired Tokyo labourer claims he was part of a workcrew
contracted to erect the commemorative stone at the Usui gravesite
- in October 1985!
It
would be interesting to see photos of this area of the Saihoji
Temple cemetery prior to this date...
* * * * *
No doubt "the
Truth is out there" - perhaps its just that it
doesn't want to be found…
________________________