Did Chūjirō Hayashi change the System of Reiki?

Bronwen and Frans StieneArticles, English 38 Comments

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Many teachers claim their lineage through Chūjirō Hayashi as traditional Mikao Usui teachings, but did Hayashi change the system of Reiki?

To get a clearer picture of this, lets look at what different Japanese Reiki teachers have said about this subject over the years.

Lets start with a story about Mrs Takata, quoted from Hand to Hand by John Harvey Gray:

When John studied with Takata, he made over 20 audio tapes of her lectures and classes. On one of the tapes she discusses travelling to Japan in order to teach her approach to Reiki. While there, she met some Japanese citizens who were actively practicing and preserving Reiki as they understood it in Japan. Takata regarded their approach as entirely valid, but inappropriate for the West. It was highly complex, required years of training and was closely intertwined with religious practices. She felt these factors would deter students in the West and hobble the spread of Reiki through the world at a time when, in her view, it was urgently needed.

From this it seems likely that Hayashi had changed certain aspects of the system of Reiki, as Mrs Takata is not talking about her teacher Hayashi, but different practitioners. Hayashi’s teachings did not require years of training and were not intertwined with Japanese traditional spiritual practices. This has followed through into modern Japanese Reiki branches–they too do not require years of training, nor are they intertwined with traditional Japanese spiritual practices.

There is also the possibility that Hayashi had not been taught many of the deeper aspects–Hayashi was only a student of Usui san for a short time. We can, however, see in Mrs Takata’s diary notes from the 10th December, 1935 that he was aware of working energetically with the tanden (the energy centre just below the navel).

Meaning of ‘Reiki’ Energy within oneself, when concentrated and applied to patient, will cure all ailments – it is nature’s greatest cure, which requires no drugs.
It helps in all respects, human and animal life. In order to concentrate, one must purify one’s thoughts in words and to meditate to let the true ‘energy’ come out from within.
It lies in the bottom of the stomach about 2 inches below the navel. Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, concentrate on your thoughts and relax.

This statement is from early on in Mrs Takata’s training with Hayashi and relates directly to what she was being taught at the time. Yet, Hayashi seemed to have not found this the most important element. The emphasis of many modern Japanese Reiki schools that have evolved from Hayashi’s teachings is more on hands on healing than meditation. Yes, some meditations methods are discussed, but they are not practiced during the class or taught as the cornerstone of letting your true ‘energy’ [Reiki] come out from within. We can talk about the tanden, but if we do not meditate to feel and gain a direct experience of the tanden then what is the use of talking about it? Hunger is not satisfied by talking about food.

Some modern Japanese branches, for example, teach students that they can watch TV while doing hands on healing, and that there is no need to meditate on a daily basis. We all know that energy follows the mind and when we watch TV we are not concentrating, nor are we in a mediative state. And as Mrs Takata stated in 1935 we need to sit and concentrate.
Perhaps it is true that as Hyakuten Inamoto, founder of Komyo Reiki Kai, has said in the past that what Japanese and Western Reiki teachers teach now as the System of Reiki should be called Hayashi Reiki instead of Usui Reiki.

In 2003 the Reiki News Magazine interviewed Hiroshi Doi, a Reiki Teacher and member of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai in Japan. In this interview Hiroshi Doi was asked, “How did Dr.Hayashi’s style of Reiki change after he left the Gakkai?”

Hiroshi Doi answered:

It is not that his style changed when he left the Gakkai, but that a new style was developed from the beginning of his Kenkyu Kai.
A recipient, except a seriously ill person, was to sit when receiving treatment; this sitting position was changed to a lying position on a table. The treatment method was changed from one-on-one to several-on-one.
These are the most outstanding features of the change, but the following changes are also recognized:

  • An original hands-on position was developed and the new Reiki Ryoho Shinshin or ‘Guidelines for Reiki Healing Method’ were created.
  • A new system of conferring and passing on Reiki Ryoho was established, and a monthly five-day workshop was held at which Okuden was given.
  • While, at the Gakkai, the navel and the tanden were considered important, the energy centers like the meridian lines of acupuncture, Tsubo, or vital points, and charka, etc. became important.

Here we can also see that Hayashi performed Reiju (initiation/attunement) differently. Performing a Reiju within the Gakkai didn’t involve the use of any symbols, tapping, moving hands etc. In the modern Japanese Reiki teachings, however, the reiju does involve drawing a symbol as you hold the students finger tips while their hands are in gassho, and at other moments, blowing and more. Interestingly, the importance of the tanden is also no longer taught in the teachings handed down by Hayashi, perhaps, as was suggested previously, his teachings evolved in a different direction.

In 2004, we asked Hiroshi Doi if the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai used the traditional Japanese cosmological concept of heaven and earth in their teachings.

Hiroshi Doi answered that, in the Gakkai, the words ‘harmony of Ten-Chi-Jin’ and ‘Oneness of Great Universe (the macrocosm)and Small Universe (humans or the microcosm)’ are often used. [Ten is heaven, Chi is earth, and Jin is humans].

Some of these concepts are mentioned in a few branches stemming from Hayashi, yet there are no methods taught to embody this. If Usui-san wanted his students to embody these principles to gain Anshin Ritsumei–enlightenment–then he would have taught very specific methods to embody earth, heaven and humanity/heart. This is why, when Mrs Takata encountered Usui-san’s students in Japan, the system was more complex and intertwined with Buddhist practices–it was to help the student gain a direct experience of Anshin Ritsumei.
We can not become enlightened by just hearing or thinking about it–we need to be actively practicing. Once again, reading a cookbook, or discussing food, or thinking about food will not still your hunger.

So, to really understand what Usui san was teaching, we cannot rely upon Hayashi’s teachings (and consequently Mrs Takata’s teachings) as our only point of reference. Instead, we must search out the system’s founder–Mikao Usui.

The International House of Reiki focuses on what Mikao Usui was trying to teach us. Going back to the roots of the system. We do this in a number of ways. Through training with Japanese spiritual teachers who still practice what was practiced at the time of Mikao Usui. We can also track the changes that have occurred from individual teacher to student and we can direct our research back to how the Japanese spiritual practices Usui san practiced were taught and practiced during his lifetime.

Come and take a course with the International House of Reiki

Comments 38

  1. Avatar of Susan Andrews

    Hi, Bronwen and Frans, Than you for this informative posting.  When I took my first class with Frans, his emphasis on Reiki as a spiritual and self development practice was what I needed to hear.  In my previous classes, I never felt as if I was getting the ‘whole’ story about the practice of Reiki.  Welcome to the US mainland, Frans.
    Susan

  2. Avatar of Paula Michal-Johnson

    Is there evidence that the practitioners Takata met were associated with the Gakkai, or with Johrei, or other palm healing societies?  She was likely correct that given the conditions in the world at the time that the West would not have been open to traditional ways of practicing.  I have read a number of things that suggest that those interested in Reiki were asked to choose whether to practice it as a religious society so that it could be openly practiced.  Clearly, given the attitude in Japan about legitimacy, many groups chose to go underground and step back from the religious allusions.  I don’t think it does Usui Reiki Ryoho a service necessarily to focus on who the “real” legacy bearers are.  IHR is a strong enough system with its emphasis on developing the system of Reiki, it doesn’t have to compete with other forms.

  3. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Thank you Susan.

    You know what is funny, is that some people get upset when we talk about Hayashi and that he might have changed things? But we are just looking at the facts and what other Japanese Reiki teachers have said about this matter.

    I also feel that when we teach the system of Reiki we need to gain a direct experience of earth, heaven, oneness etc. this is so important!

  4. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Hi Paula,

    I don’t see it as a competing? We are just writing about what other Japanese teachers have said about the system of Reiki so that students get a clearer idea about what Usui-san might have taught.

    There is no competition, competition is only in our own mind. People are attracted to schools or teachers they feel attracted too. One is not better than the other, just a different way.

    However we like to inform our students about Usui-san and what kind of things have changed over time, I do not really see this as a bad thing? Historical information gives us a better understanding about what the system of Reiki is all about.

    I also do not talk about real legacy bearers, there are no real legacy bearers.
    The real legacy is in our own personal practice when we re-discover our True Self/Reiki.

    Hiroshi Doi’s book will be re-published soon as well with some interesting new information. I think these things are great, gives us all a clearer perspective about Mikao Usui.

    Sorry if you feel that this article has offended you, it is not my intention, my intention is to inform our students and the readers about Usui-san and his teachings.

  5. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Hi Paula,

    Was just thinking about your comments. We just took statements of Japanese Reiki teachers, like Hiroshi Doi, Hyakuten Inamoto and Mrs Takata, they were/are open enough to discuss these matters, as they all believe that the more open we are the better it will get.

    I personally look forward to Hiroshi Doi’s book and I know that he has written some interesting stuff, not always what we want to hear, but that is how it goes, then we just have to readjust our way of thinking and teaching.

    This is why I think the teachings of Usui Reiki Ryoho needs to be flexible and move with new information which comes forward.

    In the tape Mrs Takata seems to talk about Reiki practitioners.

    I am not sure if people were not ready for spiritual practices, for example Shunryu Suzuki arrived in Japan 1959 in the US and there were other Zen and Tibetan Buddhist monks teaching in the US as well.

  6. Avatar of Paula Michal-Johnson

    Hi Frans,
    No I am not offended at all. I am also really interested in gathering as much information as possible and would like to see “competition” amongst URR diminish. It’s my understanding that Doi is no longer affiliated with the Gakkai. I look forward to his new book and hope it sheds light on where URR came from and where it can go. Each form has its strengths and clearly working with the System of Reiki, developing the hara base and energetics of IHR have been very helpful for my own growth and development.  Looking at Shinto and Buddhist practices that have influenced URR are helpful in generating perspective. Cheers, Paula

  7. Avatar of Seema Sahoo

    I personally would want to know the history , origins , roots etc. I remember when I first came across Reiki in 2005 I trusted what my teachers that time taught me is the system of reiki never asked any questions. Took one look at history and said ok what ever.

    It was only in 2011 when I thought of teaching I decided to look and took me whole year to make some sense to it. I was so upset , “betrayed” and felt plain idiot !. Simple basic facts like Usui was not a doctor etc. etc.

    Personally I would feel strong in my practice and teaching if I know where they came from . I think it just builds a trust in everything.

    There is so much we really do not know and its seems the history , roots etc. are like ever changing just because of that . I think we can expand and learn only if we are flexible and firm in embracing them.

    And in reality in all that there is really no competition , they are just what they are even if it is not what we think or thought they were.

    It took me a long time to accept in my heart that I wasn’t really practicing traditional Reiki but just a part of it . I realize its just the way it was . I think that’s what helped me to move forward with it.

    I think since we really still do not know so many things best is to be open and flexible so we can see if it males sense and it can mean may be today what I thought it was “the truth” tomorrow it might not.. I think it is just the way it is…

    I am thankful to Frans for bringing these out to provoke all this inside us !

  8. Avatar of seema
  9. Avatar of daniel

    Dear Frans,
    You wrote an interesting article picked up from questionable sources trying to showing us that dr. Hayashi changed the Reiki system. My opinion is only the title is interesting and the rest ….is your understanding and nothing more.
    Actually when Mrs. Takata was in Japan she met with Reiki practitioners and not Reiki Masters (maybe at that time none of them was still alive). And practitioners showed her what they was taught . Her understanding was their system is valid but are to many religious aspects and this would be difficult to explained for westerners. From this paragraph you did not known is sensei Hayashi changed or not the Reiki system.

    From last paragraph of Mrs. Takata ” It lies in the bottom of the stomach about 2 inches below the navel. Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, concentrate on your thoughts and relax.” This shows that at that time she was taught the inner foundation of Reiki. On traditional lineage is well know that Reiki has an outer and inner system. I do not teach you this because this is not the point. …but point you that Mrs. Takata knew this aspect from sensei Hayahsi. That means that Hayahsi did not changed anything, right ?

    Mr. Inamoto’s opinion is not interesting at all as he is not a Reiki Master initiated by Chiyoko Yamaguchi. He ca not trace his lineage going back to sensei Usui and he has not any certificate. Most of his system is almost the same as Mr. Doi’s Gendai Reiki system. The differencies appeared at the Reiju where Mr. Inamoto created his own style (actually as Mr. Doi did). I am sure that you know that Mr. Inamoto translated Mr Doi’s seminars and after few years the Komyo Reiki was on the market.
    Mr. Doi’s quote is not important as he is not able to showed anybody his Reiki certificate and lineage.  Also he has not be able to demonstrate anybody else that he is a member of Usui Gakkai. Both of them created his own systems based on his erroneous understanding about Reiki system. But how can one understand Reiki if he has not initiated by a real Reiki Master? Both of them have their Modern Reiki systems and modern does not means traditional, right ?
    Sorry Frans, I thought that you are clever and can more that that but I was wrong. You manipulated the Reiki community trying to show that you are specialist in this field but you have a luck of understanding about Reiki. No offense pal , just a reality.

  10. Avatar of Elly

    Thanks, Frans, for cluing us in that a new version of Hiroshi doi’s book is in the works! I have the original and am now really looking forward to the new one! I agree with Hyakuten Inamoto Sensei that almost all Reiki practiced today is derived from Hayashi Sensei’s interpretation, with two exceptions: the practices of the Gakkai, and the other teacher Usui Founder sent out into the world, who ended up in Australia if memory serves. I don’t think Usui Founder was trying in any way to shift the focus of Reiki from the spiritual to the purely physical, but rather that he could foresee the dimunition of the Gakkai to a tiny closed society and wished to continue to make Reiki available to all. Mikao Usui’s whole life after “dicsovering” Reiki was to make it available to everyone, the absolute opposite of the exclusive, closed Gakkai. I’m sure he realized that Hayashi Sensei had a much more concrete, physical expression of his teachings, given Hayashi Sensei’s focus on clinical healing, and yet he gave him his blessing. I can only imagine that he would also have sent more spiritual, holistic Reiki teachers out into the world had death not so suddenly taken him.  If only World War II hadn’t destroyed so much! It seems impossible that we should know so little about a man and his work who lived into the 20th century, yet so it is. Thanks to you, Bronwen, and all who have made such a concerted effort to find out more about Usui Founder, the background and origins of Reiki, and what it might mean for today’s practitioners.

  11. Avatar of Seema Sahoo

    I agree with Elly that Usui -San focus was not to shift but to spread Reiki to masses so no matter what their spiritual background was they can still get benefit from it in some shape and form.

    Hayashi – San had a very clinical background and we know that he came up with lying down and hands positions etc. much clinical based so its easier for people , purely on a very physical aspect.

    Even if we see that Mrs. Takata talked about hara we see that this element was not focused in the teachings to the students it was mainly hands on healing .

    Secondly from the paragraph where Mrs. Takata is talking about that she met “Reiki practitioners”  who were practicing Reiki she found it very complex and requiring years of training it shows right there that this was some thing she wasn’t really aware prior to that , to me it means that this was some thing wasn’t told to her or taught by Hayashi ?

    I think we need to really look at all this with a open mind and use common sense

  12. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Hi All,

    Yes we need to look at these viewpoints with an open sense, we can all learn from them.

    One way of practice is not better than the other, just a different way.

    But I would like to know what Usui-san practiced and I am interested in Mrs Takata’s statement about meeting practitioners who were actively practising and preserving Reiki as they understood and which took years to learn and was intertwined with spiritual teachings, because how can we help others to find their True Self/Reiki if we do not know how to find it in the first place within our own selves.

    I wouldn’t be surprised either if Usui-san taught different student different things, many spiritual teachers do this, they teach their students according to their spiritual development/understanding. Nowadays we have a very specific curriculum for the teachings but I do not think that this was the case in Usui-san’s time.
    This therefore would mean that if his different students started to teach different systems started to develop. Again, one not better than the other just a different way.

    What I also find interesting is that Mrs Takata and Hyakuten Inamoto have Haayashi in their lineage and yet they were open enough to make these statements, they had nothing to gain with making these statements.

    Think these are all good points to think about as a practitioner or a teacher.

  13. Avatar of seema sahoo

    Hi Frans,

    Thank you again for this thought provoking article !

    What you wrote at the end that Mrs. Takata and Hyakuten Inamoto have Hayashi in their lineage and yet they were open about discussing and making these statements. This especially makes me ponder deeply and go straight into my heart.

    Investigating/ probing/ researching again and again does not really mean that one has any thing other to gain but just that and that is ” investigating and searching” . This is the way we can be open and more expansive in our thinking.

    I think Nothing is absolute …

  14. Avatar of Elly

    I totally agree with you, Frans, about Takata Sensei and Hyakuten Sensei having nothing to “gain” from their honest observations about Hayashi Sensei. In fact, it was Hyakuten Sensei who, through his own research, clued me in to the fact that Hayashi Sensei wasn’t a medical doctor at all, which I must say came as quite a shock! Certainly, he had nothing to “gain” by revealing his findings and clinical Reiki as a whole had a great deal to lose, yet he spoke out about the great Reiki teacher whom he credits with the development of Reiki in the West and its renaissance in the East. This reminds me of Jesus’s disciples recording His last words on the cross, words of suffering and pain, like any other man in such horrific circumstances. They could have put grand, noble words in His mouth, such as “Good people, remember me! Show forbearance to those who hate you, and you will have your reward in Heaven!” But instead, the words they recorded were of a man who thirsted and asked for a drink, who felt abandoned by God, who suffered and died like any other man. And the honesty of their transcriptions did nothing to stop the spread of Christianity. I think it is our obligation to record what we find out about Reiki as we pursue our Way, and leave it to history to determine the significance of our findings. And I think that it is also our obligation to speak respectfully to others on the Reiki path with us, whether we agree with them or not. Arrogance and sarcasm (and defensiveness) are antithetical to the directives Usui Founder handed down to us in the Precepts. I’m sorry you were subjected to such a mean-minded attack.

  15. Avatar of seema sahoo

    I cannot agree enough with you Elly . Yes whether we agree or not we need to be respectful .

    If anyone really truly understand Reiki as a spiritual healing they would know the foundation and that is Reiki precepts of compassion.

    I think there is one thing which we say “knowledge” and there is another which is “wisdom”.

    In my opinion Knowledge can pave a door to wisdom but just plain knowledge is proud and with ego but wisdom is humble and never claims to “know”.

    This reminds me of this quote by William Cowper
    Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; wisdom is humble that he knows no more.

    I think that is why we need to keep looking …

    I feel blessed and thankful for having Frans as my spiritual guide and this has just made my belief and trust only stronger …

  16. Avatar of Jean Bromage

    Frans,
    Thank you for bringing up all these questions, and for clarifying that Usui most likely worked with each of his students on an individual basis in order to support their unique spiritual journey, resulting in these different lineages with different approaches.  Just as our genetics evolve with each generation, the practice of Reiki evolves from not only the personal influence of the teacher but the needs of the students.  While it is important to recognize and understand how Usui originally taught, he clearly wanted to assist as many people as possible in achieving greater happiness and wellbeing and that has certainly been accomplished.  I always tell people that whether they turn to Reiki specifically for physical healing or they turn to Reiki specifically for spiritual growth, both aspects of the system are working in their lives even when they are not aware of it.  Happiness and enlightenment are most definitely connected with our physical wellbeing.
    I also want to mention that Hayashi did actually teach an extensive meditation practice that Usui taught him.  However, it was kept only for those students on a path of deep spiritual growth.  I can’t help but wonder if Hayashi’s focus on the physical hands-on healing for the majority of his students didn’t also evolve because meditation was already a huge part of people’s lives in Japan and that the hands-on healing was considered something new and cutting edge for its time.  It is something I’ve contemplated in recent years. Just as Mrs. Takata knew during WWII that people in the west would reject Reiki if it at all implied a connection to eastern religion, Hayashi was adapting to the needs of his community.
    It is truly a gift to be able to share in this information in order to understand the practice more deeply and I know that is your intention with your work which is why I respect it so much.  It is tricky because it is tempting for Reiki teachers to turn around and manipulate the facts in a way that validates the ego instead of using them to support the higher intentions of the practice. If we continue to share with the intention of greater understanding then it is all good in the end.
    Thank you.
    In Grace & Gratitude,
    Jean

  17. Avatar of Joanna Crespo

    Fran, I can always count on you to bring on food for thoughts.  We had this discussion few years ago and similar to other discussions we had about Reiki, your insight would often widen my landscape in viewing the community of Reiki.  Hopefully we can get together again soon.  I missed our thought provoking conversations.  Joanna

  18. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Hi All,

    You bring up some great stuff. I think it is interesting to look at all these things so that we get a better picture of what teh system of Reiki is.

    I am looking forward to reading Doi’s book as well. I know he will say certain stuff which is different but that is exciting too. All of this makes us think. 😉

    Jean, you say that Hayashi also taught specific meditations, I am aware of Usui-san doing this but now Hayashi, what is your source?

    I think that many teachers from the past taught different students different things depending on their spiritual development, but now many teachers can not do this because their own spiritual development is not in that state, so we get stuck with a limited kind of teaching, if that makes sense? I am not saying that this is good or bad, just an observation.

    However I believe that if we are teaching a spiritual practice it needs to become individual over time, there is no other way around it.

  19. Avatar of seema

    Hi Frans,

    I am thinking about what you said about teaching spiritual practice and how many teachers from the past used to teach students according to their spiritual development.

    I think it is because if we say for e.g. system of Reiki is a lifelong practice then may be initially we can teach the elements of system of Reiki to all students but then not all of them will be practicing the same way .

    After a while some might stick to it every day some perhaps once a week and so on some less or more and again that would also vary, on top of that everyone is an individual. I think one time in your tele classes you had mentioned a metaphor that some might like tea with sugar and milk , some with sugar and some as it is , nothing good and bad just different way .

    Then as a teacher how we will support individual student need and how can we guide them? If we ourselves don’t go any deeper in it? Otherwise we will placing all students in boxes. Then how can we guide them to find their inner light if we ourselves have not walked that path?

    I can relate to what you wrote above to my occupational therapy practice as I see lot of therapists doing same thing to each and every patient and that really don’t work. I see that in my practice as a therapist I can get the most benefit and success with them if I am fluid and flexible when I work with them and also when I relate with them on an individual level.
    Needless to say Reiki has further improved my Occupational therapy practice as well.

    Every day is a learning.

  20. Avatar of Jean Bromage

    Frans,
    I’m currently studying with a teacher from the Reiki Jin Kei Do lineage and there is a specific meditation practice that Hayashi learned from Usui and his student passed this mediation down through this lineage.  In fact most of my study with this teacher so far has been meditation based.  It is believed Hayashi only shared it with his students who were on a spiritual path which is why it is not widely known.  Mrs. Takata knew of this meditation and sought out a Reiki teacher at one point who she suspected was teaching this meditation practice but it turned out he was adding his own stuff into the mix that was not Reiki.  This is why I question whether Hayashi emphasized the hands-on healing for the majority of his students and saved the spiritual practice for those who were actual monks.  Or, if the majority of his community was aware of meditation and showed more of an interest in the hands-on healing. 
    Taking my meditation practice to an even deeper level has shifted my experience of Reiki and raised the level of consciousness to degrees I never imagined.  Each day I feel filled with more and more compassion and inner peace and that is most definitely due to the meditation practice and that is what I emphasize with my students.  Just as Seema says above, we can’t support others if we aren’t willing to go deeper and deeper into this work.
    In Grace & Gratitude,
    Jean

  21. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Hi Seema,

    A good guitar teacher teaches a student according to their ability, a good chef teaches his student according to his abilities, this is why we have pastry chefs and other specialised chefs because we all work differently.

    But we can only do this if we have walked the path ourselves so that we can see the pitfalls and the different ways people can walk the path.

  22. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Hi Jean,

    Yes for me meditation is the key to remember our True Self/Reiki.

    The meditations you mention are they the Chi-Nadi Moving Meditation and the Six point meditation for energy awareness, Metta meditation etc? or are you talking about different meditations?

  23. Avatar of Jean Bromage

    Hey Frans,
    The chi-nadi exercises/meditations were actually introduced later by Seiji Takemori.  The meditation that Hayashi learned from Usui and passed down to Sensei Takeuchi, and then Takeuchi to his student, Seiji Takemori, was one that deepened one’s experience of compassion for self and others while simultaneously raising one’s consciousness or connection to higher wisdom.  In essence connecting with one’s True Self.  Seiji Takemori then went on to research the origins of this meditation and the system of reiki in Tibet and India which is how the chakras and nadis were introduced.  The chi-nadi exercises are very grounding which assist in being able to connect more deeply with the actual meditation which they call today Buddho meditation.  I’m not sure what Usui or Hayashi called it back then.
    What I find interesting in all of this is that Hayashi treated this meditation as a separate practice and that he seemingly only taught it to a few people at most. In this lineage the meditation is still taught to this day as a separate practice once a student completes Reiki II and decides they want to step onto a path of spiritual growth.  It means making an even deeper commitment than the typical weekend courses. 
    With lots of information flying around about Hayashi these days, I’ve had lots of curious questions in light of the direction of my personal practice is taking.  Thank you for opening the platform for exploration and discussion that enlightens all of us and reinforces the path we’ve each taken.

  24. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Hi Jean,

    Thanks for the information. Yes I can see how things have been added by Seji etc.

    As far as my research goes the Buddo symbol was not part of either Usui-san or Hayashi’s teachings, so not sure who added that in it.

    But hey if it works why not 😉

  25. Avatar of Sonia
  26. Avatar of Frans Stiene
  27. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Hi All,

    Hiroshi Doi says he has some notes from a student of Mikao Usui, one of these notes state:

    “We humans hold the Great Reiki that fills the Great Universe. The higher we raise the vibration of our own being, the stronger the Reiki we have inside will be.” 

    This means that we need to practice the meditation taught within the system of Reiki, so that the Reiki we have inside of us will become stronger and stronger.

  28. Avatar of seema
  29. Avatar of Elly

    Thanks so much, Frans! Though I think that Reiki is in everything, that it permeates the “Great Universe.” What we as humans hold uniquely, as you and Usui Founder’s student say, is the ability to increase the Reiki in ourselves through our actions, such as trying to live the Precepts, doing meditation and chanting, and lots of hands-on Reiki! Focus and feel, focus and feel…

  30. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Hi Elly,

    The other note of Usui-san’s student states this:
    “Everything in the Universe possesses Reiki without any exception.”

    But even that we all are Reiki/True Self, we do not remember this, so that is why when we meditate on the precepts, the symbols/mantras, etc… we start to remember our True Self/Reiki which inturn means that our great bright light feels like it shines brighter and brighter and therefore one day we can offer the whole universe while we do a hands on healing session or reiju/attunement/initiation.

  31. Avatar of Elly
  32. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Hi Elly,

    The deeper we go the more we start to remember our True Self/Reiki which in turn helps us to remember the union with the universe. This is also why level III is called shinpiden, mystery level, as it will help us to unlock the mystery of the universe, but this can only start to happen when we first remember our True Self/Reiki.
    Then maybe one day we can offer our students and clients the whole universe which of course has an enormous potential for healing.

  33. Avatar of Elly
  34. Avatar of sk jain
  35. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Here is a nice quote from Doi-san:

    “The basic 12 hand positions and the attunements procedures [with the symbols and mantras] we use today are all derived from Hayashi-sensei’s techniques.”

    Hiroshi Doi

  36. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Hi All,
    Just finished reading Hiroshi Doi’s revised book and wanted to share two quotes from it which are in line with this article.

    “But I could find signs that he [Chujiro Hayashi] had already converted the “Usui method” into the “Hayashi method” even before he taught Takata Sensei. He seemed to try modernizing Reiki-ho based on his medical knowledge and experience as a practical therapist.”

    “Next, although Hayashi Sensei advertised to the public that he taught “Usui” Reiki Ryoho after he had become independent of the Gakkai, he actually taught “Hayashi” Reiki. He adopted his own theories and techniques aimed at curing disease.”

  37. Avatar of Frans Stiene

    Hi All,

    Read this article today about Aikido and the author made some interesting points, see below.

    http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4081/1/4081_1600.pdf?UkUDh:CyT (link to article)

    “One possible objection to spirituality in aikido is the apparent disjunction between Ueshiba’s teaching of peace and harmony and his links with the navy, army and police, especially at the time of Japan’s militarisation in the 1930s.”

    “It is clear, too, that Ueshiba never wholly shared the military outlook. Interviewed by the Shukan Yomiuri newspaper in 1956, he said that the military could not understand the spirit of aikido: “Military officers base themselves on battles but I was based on myself, on Aiki”.”

    “His distance from the military point of view now becomes apparent, for he considered that it was their “emphasis on the self which, ” i f applied generally on a large scale, would bring destruction to the world”.3 1 1 This is in marked contrast to the Japanese military’s own view of itself in the 1930s as epitomising the spirit of egolessness in willingness to sacrifice their lives for Japan.”

    Interesting comments, is this why Usui-san taught the navy different things, less spiritual teachings?

    Love
    Frans

  38. Avatar of Patrick Zeigler

    The most important part of Usui san’s training is also completely left out of today’s Reiki trainings. The 21 day retreat. How many Reiki masters have followed this important practice?

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