by Frans Stiene
Mikao Usui called his teachings Usui Reiki Ryoho.
Reiki – spiritual energy, kami, buddha nature.
Ryo – to heal
Ho – method or Dharma
What is interesting is that within the kanji of Ryo we see a sense of completeness, a circular continuum. This of course makes perfect sense because what does “heal” mean? Healing comes from the word wholeness. Thus the real healing is remembering that we are already whole, like a circle.
Plus Ryo has the elements of fire and light in it too. What do we have to burn to really heal, to remember our wholeness? The concept of I, me, mine. And when we have burned away that concept we start to see our inner light which has always been there in the first place. This is why Mikao Usui called his system Usui Reiki Ryoho. A system to remember our wholeness, our inner great bright light.
Within the booklet Reiki Ryoho no Shiori, which is handed out by 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, in which Mikao Usui point out this wholeness very clearly.
“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.”
In many Japanese teachings the moon represents wholeness.
Thus Usui Reiki Ryoho means Usui’s method to return to wholeness, allowing us to remember that we are Kami, of divine essence.
The kanji of Ho can mean ‘method’ but also ‘dharma,’ especially when viewed in the context of a spiritual practice.
“Buddhism uses the technical term dharma to describe the functioning of this great original energy. But no matter how long we try to explain dharma, we always fail because it is completely beyond words. Still, even though you cannot explain dharma, it is alive in you, so you can use it to take care of your life. To take care of your life is to burn the flame of life force in everything we do.” – The Light That Shines Through Infinity by Zen Master Dainin Katagiri.
Mikao Usui used the word ‘Today’ within the Reiki precepts to point out this burning flame of our life force in everything we do today.
He didn’t say, “on a massage table,” or “distance healing,” or “when we perform hands-on healing”; no, he said, “today” in all we do.
These are really clear pointers that Usui Reiki Ryoho is a system for living our daily life from a state of wholeness. In fact the whole of the Reiki precepts point this out. There is no mention of hands on healing within the Reiki precepts at all. Rather it is all about a state of mind, a state of wholeness in all we do. This is what real healing is all about.
“There you discover dharma – real truth. Discovering dharma is the realization of reality: you directly experience pure energy as the core of your own being, and you realize you can always depend on it….That energy gives forth its own light, shining from your whole body…” – The Light That Shines Through Infinity by Zen Master Dainin Katagiri
Mikao Usui pointed this light out within the Shinpiden Reiki III symbol and mantra Dai komyo.
“Your true self is not something separated from others; it is interconnected and constantly working with others. Where? Not in your own small territory, it’s working in the huge universe! In Japanese, that working is called komyo – light. The functioning energy of the whole world is the light of the self. Because light is working from moment to moment, the whole world constantly manifests itself as the human world. At that time, the whole world is within the light of the self.” – The Light That Shines Through Infinity by Zen Master Dainin Katagiri
Mikao Usui stated: “Komyo exists in me and I exist in Komyo”, again, this points toward wholeness, the essence of our True Self, which is Being Reiki.
“Usui Sensei taught Shinpiden students one on one and he showed them the kanji dai kômyô, which indicated the consciousness of a Shinpiden practitioner.” – Hiroshi Doi Spain 2015 seminar
By naming his teachings Reiki Ryoho he clearly pointed out a path to rediscover our inner essence, our inner wholeness, which is already here today! And from this wholeness we can start to help others remember their wholeness. In a way we can say that hands on healing is therefore a by product of rediscovering our wholeness, our bright light, that we are Reiki.
A direct student of Mikao Usui also pointed this out:
“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 by product of becoming a better person. The healing of diseases with this therapy is secondary.” – Reiki and the Benevolent Art of Healing by Tomita Kaiji (Published in 1933)
I love this teaching from Tomita Kaji, the power to treat disease is a by product of our personal self-cultivation, remembering that we are whole, today.
Tomita Kaji is not alone in this viewpoint; well-known Reiki teacher and researcher Hiroshi Doi also points this out numerous times, including in the quote below, perfect to close with:
“Usui sensei himself explained that the starting point of Usui Reiki Ryoho was the concept that people are originally created healthy and happy. The microcosm must resonate in harmony with the macrocosm to recover our initial healthy condition. The ability to heal with our hands is made possible when they resonate in unison.”
