Origins of Reiki
The name "Reiki" comes from two Japanese words, Rei - meaning higher knowledge or spiritual consciousness (energy); Ki meaning life force or energy. So Reiki is spiritually guided life force, Universal life force.
Rei is the spiritual energy of the (Ki) life force. Ki is the same as Chi in Chinese, Ki in Hawaiian, Prana in Sanskrit, and Orenda in Native American, just to name a few. Every culture has a word for this life force except the American culture. There is no equivalent for the word Chi in the English language.
Usui Reiki is based on the teachings of Dr. Mikao Usui who taught and practiced Reiki in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Dr. Usui was a Buddhist and Reiki evolved into a healing system out of his experience on Mt. Kurama in the early 1900s. He was born in 1865 in a village in Japan, and studied the Japanese healing arts. But these healing methods required one to build up and then deplete his own energy when giving treatments. He began to wonder if it were possible to do healing work without depleting one’s own energy. So, he traveled to Mt. Kurama considered a Holy Mountain. There was a small waterfall there and he would meditate under the waterfall flowing over the top of his head. One day the great Reiki energy entered into his head. This greatly enhanced his healing abilities and he realized he had received a wonderful gift – the ability to give healing to others without depleting his own energy. Dr. Usui when on to teach Reiki to Dr. Hayashi, who in turn taught it to Mrs. Takata.
Mrs. Hawayo Takata introduced Reiki to the West after having Reiki treatments for a serious illness. She was healed and wanted to learn the system herself. She was trained, opened clinics, traveled the world teaching and giving treatments. In 1970, she began training others to continue the Usui lineage of Reiki. The training continued through her students and so on to the present day. This is a brief history of Usui Reiki.
There is a differing of opinion among Reiki Masters as to the origin of Reiki. Some say its origin is Tibet, India, Japan with its roots in Buddhism. Reiki has traveled through many cultures; changed to fit the different cultures and undergone interpretations in several different languages over hundreds of years. Because Tibetan, Indian and Japanese cultures and customs are different, Reiki will be somewhat different. There have been many changes and modifications and Reiki has developed into what it is today. What is most important is the purity and 'energy' of the energy itself. The healing system of Reiki was born out of compassion and desire for helping others and progressing as an individual on the path of perfection and enlightenment promoting healing on all levels of being. It's roots are spiritual, and its motivation of intent is serving others in compassion and love. So let us not get caught up in the 'doctrine' of Reiki, but focus on its intended purpose. There is no greater service than that of helping one another and all living things, visible and invisible. No matter what you choose to believe about the origin of Reiki, its energy is a loving, compassionate healing method of encouraging spiritual enlightenment, health and well being that works. No matter what the system is, the energy is the same.
