Usui Reiki Origins

The ancient healing method of Reiki was re-discovered in the middle of the nineteenth century by Dr. Mikao Usui, who was also responsible for its revival. The story of Dr. Usui’s search for this secret knowledge has been told by Grand Master Hawayo Takata (1900-1980) along the following lines:

Mikao Usui was the principle of a Christian seminary in Kyoto, Japan. One day, some of his older pupils asked him why they had heard nothing of the healing methods used by Jesus Christ and whether Dr. Usui would be able to carry out such a healing for them. Since he was unable to answer these questions, Dr. Usui decided to give up his position and study Christianity in a Christian country until he found the answers.

His journey led him to America, where he attended the University of Chicago and became a Doctor of Theology. However, he could not find a satisfactory answer in Christian writing and, not having found one in Chinese Scripts either, he traveled to North India where we was able to study the Holy Writings. Dr. Usui had not only command of Japanese, Chinese and English, but also of Sanskrit.

He later returned to Japan, where he discovered some Sanskrit formulas and symbols in old Buddhist sutras which seemed to hold the answers to his questions. At the time, he was living in a monastery in Kyoto and, after he had spoken to the Head, he set off to the Holy Mountain of Kuriyama, which lay 16 miles away. Here he intended to fast and meditate in solitude for 21 days in the hope of gaining contact with the level of consciousness the Sanskrit symbols had been written on in order to determine the truth of their contents.

On his arrival at the mountain, he placed 21 little stones in front of him and removed one at the passing of each day as a kind of calendar. During this time, he read in the Sutras, sang and meditated. Nothing unusual happened until the last day dawned. It was still quite dark when he saw a shining light moving towards him with great speed. It became bigger and bigger and finally hit him in the middle of the forehead. Dr. Usui thought he was going to die when he suddenly saw millions of little bubbles in blue, lilac, pink and all the colors of the rainbow. A great white light appeared and he saw the well-known Sanskrit symbols in front of him glowing in shining gold, and he said, “Yes, I remember.” Thus was the birth of the Usui system of Reiki.

When he returned to a normal state of consciousness, the sun was standing high in the sky. He felt full of strength and energy and began to climb down the mountain. In his rush, however, he stubbed his tow. He felt it in his hands for a few minutes and the bleeding stopped and the pain disappeared. This was the first miracle.

Since he was hungry, he stopped at an inn at the wayside and ordered a large Japanese breakfast. The innkeeper warned him not to eat such a large meal after fasting for so long, but Dr. Usui was able to eat it all without the least of consequences. This was the second miracle.

The granddaughter of the innkeeper had a bad toothache, from which she had been suffering for several days. Dr. Usui laid his hands on her swollen face and she immediately felt better. She ran to her grandfather and told him that their guest was no ordinary monk. This healing was the third miracle of the day.

Dr. Usui returned to his monastery, but he decided after a few days to go to Beggar City in the slums of Kyoto to treat the beggars and help them lead a better life. He spent seven years in the asylum, treating many illnesses.

One day, however, he noticed that the same old faces kept returning. When he asked why they had not begun a new life, he was told that working was too troublesome and that it was better to go on begging. Dr. Usui was deeply shaken and wept. He recognized that he had forgotten something of great importance in his healing, namely to teach beggars gratitude. In the followings days, he thought out 5 Reiki precepts.

  1. Just for today, do not worry.
  2. Just for today, do not anger.
  3. Honor your parents, teachers, and elders.
  4. Earn your living honestly.
  5. Show gratitude to every living things.

Soon afterwards, he left the asylum and returned to Kyoto, where he kindled a large torch and stood in the streets. Asked the reason why by passers-by, he told them he was looking for people in search of the true Light, people who were ill and oppressed and who were longing to be healed. This was the beginning of a new part of his life, which he spent traveling around and teaching Reiki.

Dr. Usui is now buried in a Kyoto temple, with the story of his life written on his gravestone. It is said that his grave was honored by the Emperor of Japan.

One of Dr. Usui’s closest collaborators, Dr. Chijijo Hayashi, took his place, becoming the second Reiki Grand Master in the line of tradition. He ran a private Reiki clinic in Tokyo until 1940, where unusually severe cases could be treated, with Reiki being applied “round the clock” in the event of especially severe illnesses. Frequently a patient would also receive Reiki from several practitioners at one. The effects of the Second World War and the death of Dr. Hayashi on May 10, 1941, put an end to this work. Hawayo Takata became Dr. Hayashi’s successor. She was born in 1900 on the island of Hawaii as the child of Japanese parents, but was a citizen of the United States. She was a widow with two small children and at the end of her physical and spiritual strength when the path led her to Reiki in 1935. She was suffering from a number of severe illnesses at the time when an inner voice told her to go to Japan and seek healing there.

Having arrived in Japan, she was lying on the operating table, about to undergo an operation, when the voice spoke to her again, telling her that the operation was unnecessary. She asked her doctors about other methods of treatment and he advised her to go to Dr. Hayashi’s Reiki clinic. One there, she was applied Reiki daily by two practitioners and, after a few months, she won back her health completely.

Hawayo Takata became a pupil of Dr. Hayashi’s for a year and then returned to Hawaii with her daughters. She was made a Reiki Master by Dr. Hayashi when he visited her in Hawaii in 1938. On his death in 1941, she succeeded him as Grand Master. She lived and healed in Hawaii for many years, but she first began to train Reiki masters herself when she was in her seventies. On December 11, 1980, Hawayo Takata passed away, leaving 22 Reiki masters in the USA and Canada.

(Source Unknown)

Dr. Mikao Usui

Holy Mountain of Kuriyama

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Chijijo Hayashi

Hawayo Takata

Mrs. Takata Opens Minds to “Reiki”

Reiki! What is “Reiki”?

Mrs. Hawayo (which means Hawaii) Takata, 74, of Hawaii, the Master of Reiki explains, “Reiki means Universal Life Energy”. It is not a religion.

She adds, “It was explained to me this way. ‘Here is a great space, which surrounds us—the Universe. There is endless and enormous energy. It is universal’.”

Its ultimate source is the creator…it can stem from the sun, or moon, or stars, that science cannot prove or tell us yet. It is a limitless force. It is the source of energy that makes the plants grow….the birds fly.

When a human being has pain, problems, he or she can draw from it. It is an ethereal source, a wave length of great power which can revitalize, restore harmony.”

Mrs. Takata adds in her words, “It is nature, it is God, the power he makes available to his children who seek it. In Japanese this is Reiki (pronounced Ray Kee).”

Skeptics may quit now.

It is interesting to note, however, that Mrs. Takata points out the American Medical Association of Hawaii permits Reiki treatments in hospitals, whenever requested by a patient.

Mrs. Takata will teach Reiki at the University of Hawaii this winter for which she has signed a contract. She is living proof that something is done right. At age 74, she plays nine holes of golf daily when at home and participates in 18-hole tournaments.

She is tiny—and mighty, projecting tranquility and quiet strength and power.

She was no always so.

Mrs. Takata recalls when she was 29 her husband died. She was left penniless with two small children to rear.

“they alone kept me from suicide,” she recalls. “I would look at their small faces as they slept peacefully. I knew I could not do that to them. I was their mother and their father.”

“By the time I was 35 I had all kinds of ailments, appendicitis, a benign tumor, gallstones, and to top it, I had asthmas, so I could not undergo an operations requiring anesthetic.”

“I went down to 97 pounds. Over a period of seven years I was further emotionally devastated. One dear member of my family died each year.”

“I was a church going woman and have always believed in God. One day I mediated and finally said, ‘God, I am up against the wall. Help me.’ I said to myself, ‘If God hears, he will help…’ As far as I am concerned, that is what happened.”

“I heard a voice. Today we call that clairaudience. I didn’t know anything about that in 1935…I heard a voice speak after I complained so bitterly. I felt all alone in the world. If I alone had all the suffering, burdens, poverty, I said, “Why am I poor? Why do I have such illness…pain? Why do I have all the sorrows?’”

“The voice with replied was loud and clear. It spoke three times. It said, “No. 1—get rid of all your illness’. Just like that you will find health, happiness and security.”

“I couldn’t believe my ears until I heard the same message three times.”

“Within 21 days I was on a boat to Tokyo, hoping to find help there. I went to Maeda Orthopedic Hospital in the district of Akasaka in Tokyo. That is the finest district in the heart of Tokyo near the Royal Palace. The hospital was named after my friend, Dr. T. Maeda who I went to see.”

Mrs. Takata says that when Dr. Maeda saw her, she had gone down to 97 pounds. He shook his head and said she would have to build up her strength before any thought of surgery. She and her two small daughters stayed at the hospital.

Before continuing with her story, Mrs. Takata explains that Reiki is spoken of in the ancient history of Japan, and the Buddhist Sutras, the sacred writings refer to it. Reiki goes back at least 2,500 years. “Its mystery was unraveled by Dr. Mikao Usui in the late 18th centrist,” she says.

After 21 days in the hospital, M<rs. Takata was ready for surgery. She was on the operating table, she recalls, being prepared, when suddenly she again heard the commanding voice.

This time it said, “Do not have the operation. It is not necessary.” Mrs. Takata said she pinched herself to make sure she was both conscious and sane. Thrice she heard the admonition, and suddenly got off the operating table and stood on the floor, causing endless consternation among the nurses.

Dr. Maeda came into inquire. She told him she was not afraid of dying, but wanted to know if there was any other form of treatment. Dr. Maeda asked how long she would stay in Japan, when she answered two years, he told the nurse to dress her and to call his sister, Mrs. Shimura, then the hospital dietitian.

Mrs. Takata later learned that Mrs. Shimura some years previously had been in a coma, dying of dysentery, when a school mate of her daughter pleaded with her to seek help for her mother from the Reiki Master, Dr. Chijuro Hayashi. She did so, and to everyone’s amazement, Mrs. Shimura came out of the coma and began to recover.

Mrs. Shimura took her to Dr. Hayashi’s offices. “Two of his practitioners worked on me” she recalls. “One on the eyes, head, sinus, the thyroid, thymus glands; the other on the rest of the body. I can best describe it as it is referred to in the Bible, the ‘laying on the hands’. The Maeda Hospital is where they checked and confirmed my progress.”

“I am a very curious woman. I said to myself, “I am going to investigate how they are doing this. What makes me feel first the warmth then actual heat emanating from their hands?’ Aha, sleeves.’ Dr. Hayashi’s assistants wore the Japanese kimono with the long sleeves, which hold pockets. They worked so silently. There was no talking.”

“My moment came. When I was being treated, I suddenly grabbed the practitioner by the pocket.”

“He was startled, but thinking I needed some Kleenex thoughtfully handed me some. I said, “No, I want to see the machine in your pocket.’ He burst into uncontrolled laughter. Dr. Hayashi came in to see what the commotion was about and was told.”

“…He smiled and shook his head” Mrs. Takata recalls. “He proceeded to give me the explanation of Universal Life Force.” He said, “Whenever you feel the contact, all I know is that I have reached this great Universal Life Force, and it comes through me to you—these (he held up his hands) and the electrodes…that force begins to revitalize and restore the balance of your entire system.”

Mrs. Takata nodded, yes, in an answer to a query. “Reiki can help a person, who is sincere in a desire to stop driving excessively, smoking, to lose or gain weight, and establish a normal balance of good health.”

In time Mrs. Takata became convinced she too should learn more and became a student of Dr. Hayashi’s. She spent months and was sent into he field to help others. Unbeknownst to her they made full report back to Dr. Hayashi. “I passed my examinations perfectly.”

Besides the treatments, she adds, there was a tatter of special diets, some included sunflower seeds, red beet juice, grapefruit, almonds (Edgar Cayce, the late extraordinary psychic about whom much has been written amount of recent years has reported to have been able to diagnose and prescribe treatments while in a trance from a distance of many miles. Treatments included special use of natural food and herbs in numerous instances.)

“I speak with confidence about this” Mrs. Takata notices, “but it should be understood I do not speak as ‘I…I…I.’ I speak because it is of God’s power. He is the one who makes it available to us. Who doubts God?...”

Mrs. Takata is the only teacher of the Usui System of Reiki in the World today and is recognized as its Master.

“The Times”, San Mateo, CA

May 17, 1975

By Vera Graham