USUI TEATE
Copyright
© 2003 James Deacon
[Additional
footnote, Jan 2007]
Usui
Teate, propagated by Chris
Marsh and Andy Bowling, is said to constitute the Spiritual
Teachings of Mikao Usui.
According
to Usui Teate, Usui Sensei spoke of these teachings as the "Method
to achieve Personal Perfection".
We
are now (mid 2003) being told that these teachings are purely
about spiritual practice [which can be undertaken regardless of
the student's religious leanings] and do not actually equate with
what we generally understand by the term 'Reiki'.
Rather,
to quote Andy, Usui Teate is "the Spiritual Path undertaken
by Usui Sensei which resulted in the birth of Reiki."
They
tell us that the Usui Teate teachings are about 'Personal Mastery'
and 'healing of the self' - as opposed to healing others - which
is a little confusing as the term teate specifically refers
to a hand/palm based treatment modality with a focus on healing
others...
Chris
and Andy's source for these Spiritual Teachings is - so we are
told - a Buddhist nun: Suzuki-san, who it is claimed, was a student
of Usui Sensei's.
[Though
it must be stated that concerns regarding the authenticity of
Suzuki-san's teachings have been raised in some quarters, some
even going so far as to question the very existence of this Buddhist
nun who is shielded from the public apparently in order to respect
her privacy.]
We
are told that, although studying these Spiritual Teachings with
Usui-Sensei, Suzuki-san was only introduced to the 'palm healing'
(teate) as a secondary practice.
The
information and teachings that constitute Usui Teate seem to be
in a ongoing state of flux - continually being modified and updated.
According to Chris and Andy - this is necessary as they learn
more about Usui Teate from Suzuki-san.
The
teachings of Usui Teate are held to be 'Special' but not 'Secret',
and are only taught directly on an ongoing one-to-one basis -
no manuals are provided, not even course guidelines.
Apparently
the teachings [Based on Buddhism and Shinto] are adapted and tailored
to meet the needs of each individual student, with each student
only being taught what they are considered ready to comprehend
and appreciate at any given time.
The
initial Spiritual Practices of Usui Teate focus on 'cleansing',
'opening' and 'Mindfulness' as a precursor to self-healing. The
receiving of Reiju may also be a feature of the initial
stages.
Usui
Teate is not something which can be learnt in a couple of days,
or even over the course of a year.
Gradually,
over time students are introduced to, and work with, an open-ended
series of meditations aimed at the deepening/developong of their
spirituality.
According
to Usui Teate, the ability to heal others is considered a relatively
minor by-product of the Self-development process. In Usui Teate,
Reiju is not considered an empowerment for developing healing
abilities (ie. for healing others), but rather for deepening ones
own spiritual development and discovering ones own true essence.
For
more concerning Usui Teate, see http://reikinews.site.voila.fr/page2.html
______
NOTE:
As
of 2006, Andy Bowling has dismantled his website and has apparently
decided to distance himself from Reiki.
One
can only speculate as to what discoveries led him to take this
action ...
Chris Marsh has apparently now given up teaching the 'Usui Teate' materials.
However, it is perhaps interesting to note that, back around early/mid September 2004, Dave King of Usui-do had begun referencing 'Usui Teate' on his Usui-do website.
By
March 2005 a statement had appeared on Dave's site to the effect that
only Laurie Anne King and Dave himself had been authorised to teach
Usui Teate outside of Japan. However, some what confusingly the 'Usui
Teate' as offered by Dave and Laurie is, according to Dave, not the same as the 'Usui Teate' taught by Chris Marsh(!)