Before we  begin our history page we would like to share a quotation that is attributed to  Buddha:

Believe nothing, O monks  merely because you have been told it….or because it is traditional, or because  you yourselves have imagined it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you  merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination  and analysis, you find to be conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of  all beings–that doctrine believes and cling to, and take it as your guide.”

  THE HISTORY OF REIKI

We believe this to be a good  reminder to those seeking guidance and knowledge to discern for yourselves what  truth is for you and what is most appropriate for your path.  After a considerable amount of study we found  there are at least several versions of the history of both Reiki and Seichim,  with conflicting information and opinions. It is difficult to establish an  honest accurate account as there are as many stories as there are people who  have been a part of this evolving healing chain.  Hopefully, this information that we provide  here will help to bring a greater understanding of the “possibilities that  await us as we mature and advance through the transformative process of  expanding our consciousness.” Patrick    Ziegler

The Traditional Dr. Usui Reiki Story:

Until 1982 Usui Reiki was an oral  tradition. with nothing being written down. The only source that we have of the  history of Dr. Mikao Usui, and his rediscovery of Reiki, is from a tape  recording made by Mrs. Hawayo Takata in 1979, towards the end of her life.  Later attempts by other Reiki Masters have failed to verify some of the  historical details of Dr. Usui’s life. Such as his travel to America. However.  This should not detract from the purpose of Mrs.Takata’s story, which was to  inspire her students with a love of Reiki and an admiration for Dr. Usui, and  his search for truth. Many of the principles of Reiki will be found embedded within  this story. Read it with discernment, from the heart, as an inspiration for your  own inner search.

dr. usuiDr. Usui’s story starts in the late  1800’s when, according to Mrs.Takata, he was Principal of the Doshisha  University in Kyoto, Japan. She claims he was a Christian minister. It is said  that one of his students asked Dr. Usui to demonstrate his healing abilities,  as: Jesus had done with his laying on of hands, saying, “I tell you the  truth, anyone who had faith in me can do the same miracles I have done, and  even greater things than these will you do.” But Usui had to admit that  despite his great faith, he was unable to demonstrate any healing skills, as he  had not learned them.       The students then replied that  despite their great respect for Dr Usui, they did not share his blind faith,  nor did they wish to. With this, Dr. Usui promptly resigned from both his  ministry and the University not in anger; but in a desperate search to find the  answer to their questions. He started his search in America, where it is said  he entered the University of Chicago, in order to study philosophy. It has since  been discovered, however, that there IS no record of his attendance there. But  of course, being at the University, he also had the opportunity to study  Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. And it was during the study of the  latter that he found a passage stating that Buddha had also healed through the  laying on of hands, and had taught his followers to do the same.  So after seven years in the U.S, he  decided to return to Kyoto in Japan, in order to search their Buddhist  teachings for a record of the Buddha’s formula for healing. He visited each of  the many monasteries in Kyoto, and finally spent three years in a Zen monastery  himself. Finding that while the monks were aware of the healings performed by  the Buddha, from reading the Sutras, they were taught to concentrate on healing  their spiritual lives, not the physical. They felt that the knowledge of  physical healing would be revealed to them through meditation, once they had  reached enlightenment. Constantly Usui searched for the truth, even to the  extent of learning first Chinese and then Sanskrit, since the Buddha came from  a Hindu tradition, so that he could read the Sutras for himself, in their  original form. Eventually in the early Indian sutras, written in Sanskrit, he  found the simple formula that he had been searching for. Now he needed to test  both the formula and himself, through prolonged meditation.

He decided to spend twenty-one days  on Mt. Koriama near Kyoto, a place where people often went to fast and  meditate. He took no food with him, but settled down under the pine trees, near  a stream, with a pile of twenty-one stones in order to keep track of time,  hoping for some sort of phenomenon, but not really knowing what to  expect…just trusting. As he opened his eyes on the morning of the final day,  just before dawn when the sky is at its darkest, he noticed a small flickering  light, just like a candle flame. The light started to come towards him, and  despite his apprehension, he realized that this was the test. He relaxed and  sat firm, with his eyes wide open, facing his fear. The light hit him straight  between his eyes, and he fell over. As he lost consciousness, his last thoughts  were, “I have made contact!” When he awoke, the light was gone, but the  sun was rising. Looking to his right, he suddenly saw millions and millions of  dancing, rainbow-colored bubbles, followed by a streak of light containing  seven colors, including blue, lavender, rose and yellow. Lastly, contained  within a great white light, just like looking at a screen in front of his eyes,  he saw all the letters of the Sanskrit formula that he had studied flashed  before him in gold, as if to say “Remember, remember!” He then meditated  upon these letters.

This was the first of four miracles  that he was to experience that day. When he at last stood up, he felt fit and  well, despite his long fast, and quite able to make the twenty-five mile walk  back to Kyoto. As he made his way down the mountainside, he stubbed his toe,  lifting the nail and making it bleed. He held his toe in his two hands, until  slowly the pain ebbed away. Not only had the bleeding stopped, but the toe was  back to normal. “This,” he said, “is the second miracle”.  As he continued his journey down the mountain, he came upon an old man with a  charcoal stove, selling food by the roadside. Dr. Usui ordered a huge  breakfast, but the old man, on seeing the length of his beard growth, and  realizing that he had been up on the mountain for a long period, warned him  that he would get indigestion if he ate so much at once.

Dr. Usui assured him that was what  he wanted, he would be fine. It was while waiting for the food to be prepared  that the old man’s granddaughter approached, bringing the bowls, chopsticks and  tea. Dr. Usui noticed that her face was swollen and she was in tears. For the  last three days she had been suffering from dreadful toothache, the nearest  dentist being seventeen miles away. Dr. Usui placed his hands over the  troublesome tooth, and soon the pain was gone. “He is no ordinary monk, he  makes magic!” cried the delighted girl. And this was the third miracle of  the day. So grateful was the old grandfather, that he insisted that the food  was “on the house”. So an exchange was made for the healing received. Of  course, as he predicted, Dr. Usui experienced no discomfort after his huge  meal, this being the fourth miracle. On his return to the monastery, he found  that one of the older monks had taken to his bed with very bad arthritis. Dr.  Usui went to visit him, sitting with his hands on the old monk’s bed covers, as  he told him of the great success that he had had with his experiment. They  talked late into the night, and as Dr. Usui got up to leave, the old monk  reported that all his pain had gone, and that he felt full of energy.

Dr. Usui decided to start his healing practice  with those most in need, in the slums of Kyoto, where he remained for seven  years. He went wearing the robes of a monk, but disguised as a peddler with two  panniers of vegetables. It didn’t take long before the local gang of beggars  had him before their leader, divesting him of all he possessed, including his  clean clothes, in return for the rags of a beggar. It is interesting that Mrs.  Takata refers to this as his “initiation”, as though the trappings of  his old life were being released and stripped away to be replaced with the new.  Dr. Usui quickly struck a bargain with the beggar chief: that in return for  somewhere to stay and three meals a day, he would work from sunup to sundown,  healing all the sick that they brought to him, no matter what their disease,  even impetigo, TB and leprosy. When asked if he was not afraid to touch these  people, he replied, “No, I am a healer.”       According to Mrs. Takata, he started to work  on the cause and effect of their diseases, noting that the younger people got  better quicker, and that “the older the person and the deeper the disease”  it took many days and months. It would seem that already he had noticed that it  was the accumulation of past experiences and emotions that had led to many of  their diseases. Many were sent to the Zen monastery, to be given new lives and  jobs in the outside world. But despite this, they often returned to the slums  and the empty lives that they had previously led. On meeting with several of  his previous patients, and on hearing how they had chosen to abandon their  work, preferring to return to a life of begging, Dr. Usui actually broke down  and cried like a child. He said that the beggars were greedy, by wanting all  the time, giving nothing in return and showing no gratitude.

But Dr Usui was a man of great  determination, courage and strength. He learned from this lesson and refused to  be defeated. He made a pilgrimage all over Japan, at one point carrying with  him a torch, and shining it even in broad daylight. When questioned about this  strange behavior he replied, “I am searching for people that need this  light to brighten their hearts, take away their depression, cleanse their  character, their mind and their body. If you want to hear this lecture, come to  the church.” And so he spread his rediscovery of Reiki to anyone who would  listen. Through the length and breadth of Japan, creating 16 or 18 Reiki  Masters (the exact number varies, depending on the source). One of these was  Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, a retired military man, who stayed with Dr. Usui until  Usui’s death. Dr. Hayashi continued teaching the Reiki Healing system after Dr.  Usui’s death. One of his students was Mrs. Takata, who took Reiki out of Japan  and into the rest of the world.

Dr. Mikao Usui.

Dr Usui dedicated his life to the teaching of Ancient truth. Without his  disciplined perseverance, we might not have the blessings of the Reiki Ray. Our  lives will be enriched from his labor of Love for humankind. His dedications as  a Servant of the Light continues to shine upon our Spiritual path in Reiki.  (Februari 7,1802 until October 16,1883, unconfirmed dates)