What is Reiki ?

I can confirm that the often called 'distance Reiki' in the west has parallel in the more original Japanese Reiki practice. Kokyu, something, I cannot recall full name right now. Known more commonly as the photograph method. This is a quite distinct technique so I am not sure about whether it can be used with Mudra which I gather are some kind of Yogic hand gesturing.

I considered that most people looking for Reiki are wanting to feel better about something, maybe emotional problems, maybe various ailments etc. and the idea of the western style Reiki may well be enough for them. I am not sure how the people bringing forth the Japanese seemingly more original/traditional version square the circle of .... it is chi flow/energy to : this is fundamentally a system is a path to enlightenment. That seems like quite a jump from might be expected.

It has been something like 15 to 20 years that original techniques and practices have been presented, which were from westerners speaking with living Japanese students of Mikao Usui or those who were trained by the first set of students of Mikao Usui. Along with contact with Mt. Kurama temple monks and other Buddhist monks in Japan. It seems a bit slow for the full original intentions to be brought forwards. I suspect the least being the crystal/feather/smudge business minded people on Youtube.

Going from - lay down and relax, to the complexities and heavy philosophical weight of karma, reincarnation, and other areas of Buddhist philosophy seems like an intellectual, religious jump that might be quick to scare people off.

Why would a client want to follow a path of enlightenment, if they do not for example believe in reincarnation and thus the need for a path to enlightenment. Hardly something one would want to go into with someone on their first reiki session. That would put some off Reiki for life.

On the other hand waving your crystal and feather wand about on Youtube and ignorance of origins and authentic technique and the spiritual method of Mikao Usui is also less than authentic.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with uncovering the true traditions but after 30-40 years of reiki it seems difficult to row backwards into a more traditional version entwined with deep, complex and unique Japanese culture and religion.

I suppose it is all Reiki but with different leanings and that is just how it came about. Somewhat a technique born from the geographic and history of the world in the era it came about since the early 1900's to now.

I want to make clear that the intentions of all versions of Reiki are good,asuming practitioners with good intent. I was not expecting such a complex and not entirely straight forwards or clear history to have to look into. Interesting though it has been. It is what it is.

All of this is out in the open and there are many books written on the subject by the authors mentioned and more. It seems up to every individual whether student, practitioner or recipient, client to work it all out for themselves, if they even want to. Acceptance of money and spirituality connected with clarity of intent is always going to be complex and open to criticism and possibly insincere influence. At times the 2 seem in direct opposition.

Every person must consider it all for themselves and ask what is their core motivations and understand the core motivations of everyone involved
at each step of the way.

No one should ever be blamed for trying to understand something more clearly and that is not going to be comfortable for anyone involved or the person reading into it.

 

A prime example of the raw contradictions in the most preachy Traditional / Buddhist/Shinto/Shugendo of Reiki practitioners.

Watching an interview and said traditional Japanese/Buddhist style practitioner speaks of Reiki flow which is being and not doing and relates to unconditional love.

He charges about $115.00 for a session

What part of receiving $115.00 for a session is unconditional ?

I have my own spiritual work do with Reiki that is for sure and I am interested in the traditional presentations that come forth but I am glad it is them who have to come to terms with this ridiculous statement.

It makes what they say untrustworthy, lacking in authenticity and somewhat undermining.

It severely undermines their cause of preaching that current Reiki is not traditional.

I am having a really hard time of it, and whilst I appreciate the more truthful origins, some of the newer techniques have actually been very effective in my own life. And yet some of those are being called out as.. "they were not taught by Mikao Usui"... and that by the "$115.00 unconditional love guy".

When I say very effective, effective on emotional and some physical ailments, I am kind of living proof to myself that they work.

Maybe I need to let go of all this and just practice what feels best for myself from the wide ranging options there are. The '$115.00 unconditional love, traditional Reiki.' guy is creating great doubts and yet does not seem to practice what he preaches.

Reading about Reiki is not practicing reiki. Reading is not practice, but I somehow feel like the wind is being taken from my sails somewhat and what I do is inauthentic (despite not taking money) whilst the $115.00 unconditional holier than thou traditional guy is proposing how authentic his Reiki is.

It feels quite lonesome on the path at times.

 

A sobering thought appears that you should not discount your own reality, existence and occurrences on your own life path when considering the words of self appointed authority. Glad I have the strength for this, its been very rewarding, positive and an ongoing practice. When all said and done it is better to go through all the discomfort and doubt now and work though it all than have regrets, ignorance or doubts moving forwards.

Lying to yourself is no use at all, no good for yourself or others around you.

I just add an error correction I mention 'distance' Reiki as being kokyo something. I was wrong it is : Enkaku Chiryo Ho

 

Buddha lived in a time in India when it was very prosperous , and Buddhism had numerous patrons like Emperor Ashoka who almost reduced himself to personal penury and an exhausted treasury as its patron. But this enabled Buddhism to spread around the world and not be confined to India like its contemporary sister religion Jainism.

Such prosperous times and wealthy patrons do not exist now however.

A certified reiki master who charges to teach reiki should be paid his or her dues as part of his labor. so that she can earn a livelihood for herself. Not having financial stresses can enable greater focus and capabilities in Reiki as well.

I know of a reiki master who used to conduct free healing sessions due to his idealism and enthusiasm. Few years down the line , I found him financially stressed and staying away from such healing sessions (except in extreme cases), as he had to devote more time to his business due to the growing financial demands of his family. He seemed a very good person who was regretful of taking such a decision due to practical considerations.

Wealthy reiki masters can teach or conduct such healing sessions freely for the spiritual merit involved. But poor reiki masters around the world should charge for their services or have some sort of barter which would make their lives easier till they attain financial competency.

 

I find that Reiki works better when I pony up. even if its supossed to be free. in my experience.

 

Are you serious ? There are more people out of poverty globally in 2024 than at any time before.

You did not say what type of other business or did you mean charging for Reiki ?

Reiki is not a viable business on its own for most and that is why most have 2-3 other types of practice on the go at the same time or have a mundane or other job.

Or they do "Youtube Reiki" hand waving wizardry, which is a brand of reiki which I often wonder what Usui would think.

If Reiki is meant to be unconditional according to the "holier than thou" authentic Japanese reiki ilk who appear to charge the highest fees of all, they have some deep reconciling to do in their own moral approach. Who do they think they are €90 for reiki, how utterly ridiculous.

As to the last post, money transfer has zero affect on the effect of the treatment with correct intent, I think in your case that really is placebo, in your own mind.

 

I am no expert in Reiki, though I did the first two (of then 3) initiations many years ago when the fad started.

I am also not en expert of Buddhism in genera, and certainly not Shugendo (which is btw syncretic and not just Buddhist), but do have a degree in Buddhist studies from a Zen-order affiliated university.

For what is worth, and to be taken with a grain of salt because of the above - I actually do consider it a newage fad alongside crystals and such. The Buddhist connection is very indirect at best, most probably questionable, possibly fabricated as much as the Christian connection, all depending on the present target audience.

And in general the Japanese religious scene of the Era, and in general, was very "newagey" itself.
In general the far East was never religiously consolidated like most of Abrahamic-religions dominated areas, or SE Asian Buddhist countries. Most lay people did not affiliate with any particular religion, only monks and priests did. And there were always truckloads of sects, cults and new religious movements jumping left and right.

So as much as I can determine without putting some actual study hours into it all signs point at Reiki being just one of truckloads of such alternative fads in the region that span all areas - politics, health and spirituality - and that would usually not be perceived as actually anything (including Buddhists) by established religious institutions (for what that's worth, not saying it is an objective criteria of value).

So it is newage before newage and fits perfectly into that narrative.

 

Depends what is meant by prosperous. It was a transition phase between local chiefdoms and the later feudal kings and kingdoms. There was still no literacy. There were no big kingdoms of the later eras though it shifted to somewhat consolidated mahajanapadas in about 1/3 of the subcontinent territory, a group of porto-"kingdoms", though not necessarily in the later feudal hereditary sense, if at all. The urbanisation has just started. Even from a medieval perspective it would have all still been rather primitive.

That was Ashoka's political propaganda happily regurgitated by modern faithful too, but it is historically questionable if he was himself ever even a Buddhist, and all that he has done in religious propagation was almost certainly a well calculated pragmatic political PR move. I doubt he did anything to the extent beyond what was useful to power consolidation.

No, and the financial structure is different from feudal periods. But Buddhism is still full of monks not charging fixed fees for their services (but also those that do), and even of monks that still live an ascetic life sustained on alms as was ordained by the original Vinaya (whitch is btw the most fundamental aspect in the religion, academics tend to believe that monastic rules go back further than even the oldest philosophical and religious texts). A fundamentalist might argue that the mixing of monastic institutions and feudal power structures was already a bastardisation, monks were meant to be ascetics, not feudal landlords controlling paramilitary forces, land holdings, even slaves as was often later the case.

He can do whatever he wants and can sell whatewer to whomever is buying, nothing to do with Buddhism anyway.

 

This article states that Dr. Usui, the founder of modern reiki , was inspired by Buddhism.

The History of Reiki

 

Charles Manson claimed to be inspired, or actually even to be Jesus. Does not make him the Pope exactly, or consistent with ant strain of Christian theology or church with wide recognition etc.

But it ultimately depends on what we use as a definition of being part of a religion. It can be down just to self-identification of course.

What Buddha did we have no idea about, there are very few historical assumptions and even those are speculative. Mythological biographies derived from the early canons ( Sutta and Vinaya off the Tripitaka and Agama) + some folk additions would be very difficult to relate to Reiki in any imaginable way. There are some miracles, and very few might be considered health related, but is is always to prove a religious point and not related to any specific method of healing. More like "divine intervention" (to be taken with a grain of salt just as a phrase, considering the status of anything "divine" in Buddhism). He is described as a physician because he approached the problem of suffering in a "diagnose-remedy" manner like one, not because actual healing. He himself died of ideas, and there are stories where he attended sick monks, but not healed them or anything, nor himself.

Now later scriptural strata get more complicated, there are certainly healing deities, wisdom buddhas and boddhisatvas, though practices tend to focus more on religious ritual than again anything like reiki. But there certainly could be something is some of the many folk buddhist offshoots of later eras.

The problem though that it is always either vague, or even referencing scripture (like a supposed tantric text) in name, but never in content and I can't find the text itself anywhere.

I call BS to the whole thing, just one in thousands of such new religious cults across the far east that claim a connection to whatever fits the agenda.

 

True, not a religion, but I am just lumping all mystical groups together.

We are not too used to it. Even more so in most of continental Europe that is historically dominated by a single church compared to the US with many different Christian denominations.
So when "newage", eastern and esoteric groups started popping up it was a new thing.

But in parts of Asia that never had a consolidated state religion, at least not for long enough to become permanent and controlling, people coming up with their own things however they see fit was, and still is very common.

A lot of it can be inspired by existing big traditions, but whether that makes them part of the same is debatable. A lot of hippies can be inspired by Jesus, Buddha or practice yoga, but is what they do Christianity, Buddhism or Hinduism? I would argue it is their own independent thing.
Depends on how is it defined on the spectrum from the liberal "if you consider it to be x, than it is" to the ultra-orthodox "if it does not follow Vinaya and this or that foundation text it is not Buddhism". I would not myself go to either extreme, and are not sure Reiki can claim a genuine Buddhist connection unless you go with the first "liberal" extreme, and not sure even than. So I would not consider it Buddhism related.

But If someone can share a specific scriptural foundation and unbroken tradition (which is usually either monastic or with monastic roots, as all of Buddhism started with monastic orders and rules) I would happily reconsider.

 

@Vessavana

Reiki may appear NEW age to you, but it is actually related to the ancient concept of prana/chi/ki in eastern religious and medical philosophy.

I have elaborated on this theme in this thread...

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on prana and ways to increase it

Prana or life-energy is known to circulate all around the body, and blocks in the prana flow or low prana levels are bound to result in poor health and illness.

Eastern medical systems like Ayurveda, reiki, pranic healing, hatha yoga, acupuncture operate on increasing prana or removing its blocks so as to ensure good health and healing. They have been in place for milleniums.

An enlightened sage is a natural reiki master, whether he knows reiki or not. This is because he radiates high amounts of prana due to his enlightened state.

Consequently he or she can heal effectively using prana transmissions.

This is the reason for the healing experiences that usually happen around enlightened sages like Buddha in the past and Anandmayi Ma, Mata Amritanandamayi, Shirdi Sai Baba, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Jiddu Krishnamurti and so on at present times.

In my own region, we have accounts of an enlightened sage who used to visit villages offering discourses and healing.

This sage used to offer leaves of jack-fruit trees (which were abundant in the region) after filling them with prana, to those suffering from ailments. This lead to healing as well.

There is a story of a man suffering from a disease who approached the sage and was disappointed to be given the jack-fruit leaf instead. He inadvertently lost the leaf and ate an another jackfruit leaf instead. This however did not lead to healing.

When the sage visited the region later on, the man went and complained on his lack of healing. When the sage questioned whether the man ate the exact leaf given to him by the sage, he admitted it was not the case and he ate one plucked by himself. The sage then gave him a leaf again and made him eat it on the spot. This time the man was healed of the disease.

This can be hard for people in western civilization to believe or understand as they do not have the concepts of enlightened sages or Buddhas in their religious or psychological systems.

A westerner recently remarked to me that he considered Newton and Darwin as enlightened sages or Buddhas, notwithstanding the fact that it is the same scientists and engineers that foolishly develop wmd due to dualistic perception, which can wipe out other countries as well as their own.

 

I presume it's because they've got bills to pay too

 

The way I understand it is that Reiki is currently seeing a bit of a shift to more authentic Japanese practices. A lady called Hawayo Takata lived in Hawaii USA. Suggested that Reiki was not being practiced back in Japan when in fact it was, very much so. The Western version (Lineage from Hawayo Takata) has significant new age focus, some of the techniques that started to be taught were not used by Japanese practitioners.

Even though the overall tone is very holier than thou The Reiki Sourcebook by Bronwen and Frans Stiene clears up as best as possible with information available what are authentic and not authentic techniques. Though this is not to say that any given technique will not work as much can be down to the practitioners own inner work as much whether a hand is placed here or there on self or other 'authentic' or 'inauthentic'

The 5 Reiki principles are very closely linked to Buddhist precepts. Just for today I will not anger, JFT I will not worry, JFT I will be grateful, JFT I will do my work honestly, JFT I will treat other beings with kindness. Buddhism light we could say. These have been interpreted as for the practitioner to work upon themselves.
The book I mention, very very cheap second hand $5.00 goes into symbols used as being Buddhist signposts and tools rather than something to wave over a client to demonstrate your healing superpowers. They are tools for the practitioner not the smudge laden wand wavers on Youtube.

There are new lineages being presented arguable more authentic,some via Hayashi (a pupil to Mikao Usui) and also some students of his one notable being a lady called Chiyoko Yamaguchi. Also someone called Hiroshi Doi also wrote some books on Reiki from a lineage not via Hawayo Takata.

Ajay writes some good things above about the oriental energy system and chi/ki which is in essence Reiki.
The new age brings in the mystical whilst for many the practice is more matter of fact related to Chinese/Japanese medicine (as far as the unproven can be matter of fact of course).

There is nothing wrong with presenting more authentic approaches to Reiki but it could put a cat amongst the pigeons and cause some potential splits. It is nothing less than naive to think it would not so it a double edged sword for those who walk the way of authentic/non authentic.

If you want a wand waver there are plenty and if you want something else then those people are growing very very slowly in numbers, though see
themselves as something really special and charge accordingly like €/$ 100 or more for a session.

It is burgeoning into something different than what people though it may be. Slowly.

 

This is pretty interesting stuff. Probably a trite question. What does it feel like to have someone do reiki on you?

 

It is all over the place. I have seen people have strong reactions and break down emotionally or people not having any at all. Most will feel some sort of “energy sensation”.

Believers will usually have an internal logic to explain the difference, speak of sensitivity, blockages etc.

I am on the sceptical side, believe most such practices are based on suggestion/hypnosis/placebo (and have intentionally created those same experiences and situations just by suggestion with completely nonexistent makeshift “techniques” during my experimental days trying to figure things out). In that case it depends on suggestibility of the person and the amount of repressed stuff that can get out in some sort of psychological decompression.

But who knows for sure.

 

Thank you for explaining

 

I had reiki twice, one paid, one unpaid. Only thing I got out of it was a sore back. I find a gentle massage, yoga or accupressure to be far more effective.

There seemed to be no spirituality involved, just lots of elbowing and attempts to move chi energy using hands without physical contact.

 

Huh. Bummer.