by Frans Stiene
Within the booklet Reiki Ryoho no Shiori, which is handed out in the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai in Japan, we see a section called “Strict Teachings of Mikao Usui.” Within this section we find a wonderful poem, which encapsulates Mikao Usui’s teaching in a nutshell:
“Kumo wa harete nochino hikari to omounayo Motoyori sorani ariake no tsuki”
“Do not think that the light appears only after the clouds [confusion, thoughts, ego] have cleared. The light of the moon [Great Bright Light – that we are Reiki] has been shining in the sky from the very beginning.”
This poem explains the system of Reiki in a very simple and yet profound way. And as pointed out in the booklet, it is the strict teachings of Mikao Usui.
First of all, in traditional Japanese teachings the moon stands for our essence, our true self, our original nature, buddha nature, reality beyond our ego/thoughts, and Being Reiki.
The light of our essence has been shining from the very beginning.
Often we think we have to add energy/light/Reiki to ourselves because we do not have enough energy/light/Reiki. But this is just our confused thoughts, the clouds, our ego. In essence, our energy/light/Reiki is always shining and bright.
We can not add more light to the moon and we also can not take away the light, just like we can not add more light to the sun or take away light from the sun.
Mikao Usui is thus pointing out that the whole system of Reiki is based on realizing that we are pure/whole already, like the moon or sun. And that all the practices within the system of Reiki are letting go of the clouds of confusion, our confused thinking, our ego/self. In this letting go, we realize that we are pure right now, right today. That our light is shining today, in all its purity.
“Its essence is seeking the harmony of body and mind. When engaged in self-cultivation by doing seiza, forgetting the “self” is of utmost importance. When it comes to self-cultivation, one must discard all thoughts” – Reiki and the Benevolent Art of Healing by Tomita Kaij, 1933.
When we forget the “self,” the clouds, our confused thinking, we start to see that we have always been Reiki already. There exists no moment when we began to “be Reiki.”
“Everything in the universe contains Reiki” – Mikao Usui, in the booklet Kokai Denju Setsumei (first copy is said to be from 1922.)
We have always been 1000% the universe already, since the very beginning. Thus we can not say that through our practice we add more universal energy to ourselves. If that were the case, then for example, first we are 45% of the universe and then we practice. Then we suddenly become 75% of the universe and then we forget to practice…so are we going back to 30% of the universe?! That of course is not the case at all and it is also not possible. This means that we have always been and will always be 100% the universe. And as Mikao Usui states, everything in the universe contains Reiki; that means we are always 100% Reiki no matter what happens or does not happen.
This state of Being Reiki and realizing that right today we are already 100% Reiki is the strict teaching of Mikao Usui as expressed by this beautiful poem.
“The universe is me and I am the universe” – Mikao Usui, in the book Reiki Ryoho no Shihori by Fukuoka Koshiro.
There are many more layers to this strict teaching of Mikao Usui and to really understand that, we have to practice the meditation practices Mikao Usui put in his system.
We have to understand that the Reiki precepts are describing this light of Being Reiki, that hands on/off healing is a practicing of forgetting the “self” as at the same time we are the giver and receiver, and that the symbols and mantras are pointers to Being Reiki already today, in all its glory. That the meditation practices like hatsurei ho, (translation: to reveal our inconceivable spiritual ability), point out that the light of the moon, our inner essence is already shining, and that the Reiju/attunement/initiation is there not to give us Reiki but to help us to realize that we are Reiki already, right now, 100%.
