by Frans Stiene
“When mind moves, ki moves” – Yuasa Yasuo – The Body, Self-Cultivation and Ki-Energy.
Within Okuden Reiki II, we have the symbol/mantra Hon sha ze sho nen 本者是正念
In many Reiki classes, particularly in the West, people learn that this symbol/mantra is about distance healing. But if we look to traditional Japanese practices, and what Mikao Usui really was teaching, we can see it quite differently. We can see so much more.
Literally we can say that the translation of hon sha ze sho nen is, “my original nature is correct thinking/contemplation – right mind.” But we can also flip it around to say this:
The correct way to contemplate, is from my original nature. Or the correct way to think, is from my original nature.
But thinking is life and our original nature is also our True Self.
So in a way we can also say that hon sha ze sho nen points to living life from our True Self, not our confused self.
“The Right Mind And The Confused Mind
The Right Mind is the mind that does not remain in one place. It is the mind that stretches throughout the entire body and self. The Confused Mind is the mind that, thinking something over, congeals in one place. When the Right Mind congeals and settles in one place, it becomes what is called the Confused Mind. When the Right Mind is lost, it is lacking in function here and there. For this reason, it is important not to lose it. In not remaining in one place, the Right Mind is like water. The Confused Mind is like ice, and ice is unable to wash hands or head. When ice is melted, it becomes water and flows everywhere, and it can wash the hands, the feet or anything else. If the mind congeals in one place and remains with one thing, it is like frozen water and is unable to be used freely: ice that can wash neither hands nor feet. When the mind is melted and is used like water, extending throughout the body, it can be sent wherever one wants to send it. This is the Right Mind.” – The Unfettered Mind by Zen Master Takuan Sōhō
When we live a life from our True Self, our essence, Reiki, we go with the flow, we won’t freeze over from anger, worry and attachments, and we are free. Things come and go and we keep flowing; nothing becomes stagnant. And if our mind is free, our energy also flows freely in all we do. But if we get stuck in our minds, our energy also becomes stuck and cannot flow anymore.
“In the martial arts of the Yagyū [school] there is something called defects/illnesses (yamai 病). The defects/illnesses in the human body are the same. They refer to the defect/illness of stagnation. If ki is extended throughout the entire body and there is no stagnation, there is no defect/illness. If ki is dispersed and becomes diminished, there is defect/illness. Indeed, if ki is diminished, energy becomes weak, [ki] will not be able to circulate, [ki] will become stagnant here and there, and a defect/illness will form.” – – Isetsu 醫説 (Discourse on Medicine) by Takuan Soho (1573-1646)
Hon sha ze sho nen in essence means leading a free-flowing life in which the energy flows free throughout our whole body. This is also pointed out within the Reiki precepts: today in all we do, do not get get caught up in anger and worry, for example. And this is also pointed out within the meditation practice joshin kokyu ho which means that with each in and out breath, we realize that our essence is pure.
“When ki 氣 is pure and uncontaminated there is no illness. When the ki of a human being is orderly this ki will circulate throughout the entire body. When the ki is not orderly, here and there this ki will stagnate.” – Kottō-roku 骨董録 (Record of Curios) Zen master Takuan Sōhō 澤菴宗彭 (1573-1646)
So in a way this symbol/mantra is not about distance healing but about leading a peaceful life, a life of compassion and kindness.
