by Frans Stiene
“Not all spiritual paths lead to the harmonious Oneness. Indeed, most are detours and distractions, nothing more.” Laozi
When cooking or baking something new, we must follow a specific recipe to achieve the desired result. But if we do not follow the recipe we also do not get the desired results. This is exactly the same as Mikao Usui’s teachings.
“This is because the source of reiki, the agent of this therapy, must be sought in the proper heart and mind. The power to treat disease is thus a byproduct of becoming a better person. The healing of diseases with this therapy is secondary. – Reiki and the Benevolent Art of Healing byTomita Kaiji (Published in 1933)
Kaji Tomita, a direct student of Mikao Usui, explained very well in 1933 that the source of Reiki must be sought in our state of mind. What is that state of mind? To fully understand that state of mind, let’s see what kind of practices Mikao Usui placed in his teachings.
First of all we have the Reiki precepts which are all about a specific state of mind. The Reiki precepts clearly describe our True Self.
“The precepts are something everyone has as their own nature.” – Becoming Yourself by Shunryu Suzuki
Our own nature is our True Self, our essence, and the Reiki precepts are a description of this state of mind.
Then we have the meditation practice joshin kokyu ho which literally translates as pure mind with each breath. What is this pure mind from a traditional Japanese perspective?
“It is pure Mind, which is the source of everything and which, whether appearing as sentient beings or Buddhas, or as the rivers and mountains of the world which has form, or as that which is formless, or penetrating the whole universe, is absolutely without distinctions, there being no such entities as selfness and otherness.” Zen Master Huang Po
Pure mind is our True Self, without the idea of I and you.
“The universe is me and I am the universe” – Mikao Usui, in the book Reiki Ryoho no Shihori by Fukuoka Koshiro.
We also have the second symbol in Okuden which links to Amida Buddha; this symbol also points to our True Self.
“Just as emptiness is not something external, Amida Buddha is not an external being but our deepest, truest self – our deepest truest reality.” – Professor Mark Unno
Then we have the third symbol hon sha ze sho nen which translates as my original nature is right mind. First of all it points also to our original nature, our True Self. And what is right mind from a traditional Japanese perspective?
“The No-Mind [mushin] is the same as the Right Mind. It neither congeals nor fixes itself in one place. It is called No-Mind when the mind has neither discrimination nor thought but wanders about the entire body and extends throughout the entire self.” – The Unfettered Mind by Zen Master Takuan Sōhō
So right mind is the same as no-mind, which again points to our True Self.
“Zen satori is to realize the self of empty mind, of mushin.” – Zen Bridge – The Zen teachings of Keido Fukushima Roshi
We could go on and on like this when we look at most of the practices within Mikao Usui’s teachings, they all point to our True Self, anshin ritsumei.
However to really rediscover our True Self we need to follow the right recipe Mikao Usui put in his teachings, else we never really will rediscover this inner state of mind.
For example, if we just do joshin kokyu ho once in a while, or if we use the symbols externally, or if we just focus on external hands on healing, then we are not following the right recipe and we will not rediscover our True Self. To rediscover our True Self we have to turn inwards in a specific way, which Mikao Usui clearly pointed out.
“The content of Shinpiden’s instruction did not exist as a curriculum. As a result, following Usui sensei’s death, instruction regarding the maximum state of Anshin Ritsumei [enlightenment] became difficult.” – Hiroshi Doi
After Mikao Usui’s death these instructions became difficult due to the teachers not having had these direct experiences of their True Self.
The teacher needs to teach the specific recipe to their students so that they can follow it, if the teacher doesn’t teach the right recipe then we have a problem. However even if the teacher is teaching the right recipe, if the student doesn’t follow that, then we also have a problem.
Let’s rephrase it one more time. To remember our True Self we have to follow the specific recipe Mikao Usui placed within his teachings. To see the recipe clearly we have to have the right teacher and follow the teachings correctly. If any of these is lacking we will not remember our True Self and therefore we will also not rediscover our deepest healing.
In a way we can see this also in modern Yoga; if we only focus on asanas, physical postures, and never go deeper than that physical aspect, then it will be very difficult to remember our True Self. This is the same within Mikao Usui’s teachings: if we just focus on hands on healing but fail to integrate the practices of the meditations, the precepts, internalizing the symbols, etc., then we miss some important ingredients and do not follow the right recipe, and therefore we do not get the full result—rediscovering our True Self, that we are Reiki.
Therefore it is of utmost importance, if we want to be Reiki, remembering our True Self, that we have to follow the correct recipe which Mikao Usui hid in his teachings.
