Reiki

I see no logical justification for the capitalisation of "reiki", save that some of its practitioners regard it as a proper noun. I regard the word as a generic term, as the Japanese do, and therefore spell it without capitalisation (except in titles); this article will follow that practice.

Derivation of the Name and Related Terms

Reiki: Japanese, kanji rendering 霊気 or hirigana rendering レイキ, IPA pronounciation /ˈreɪkiː/

"Reiki" can be used as a verb, noun, or adjective.

Usually one uses hirigana for "foreign" words, and commonly one finds the word "reiki" in Japanese rendered in hirigana. This example has a note of irony given that Usui's reiki originated in Japan, flourished in the West via Hawaii, and then came back into common usage in Japanese as a "foreign" word, rendered in hirigana rather than its older traditional rendering in kanji.

"Reiki" is often translated as "unseen/hidden energy/life-force". In Japanese, the word "reiki" can be used generically to refer to spiritual power, and not specifically in the context of Usui's work. Common phrases in Japanese for Usui's Method of reiki healing include Usui reiki shiki ryoho (Usui reiki healing method), and Usui-do ("Way of Usui").

The Practice of Reiki

Universal Energy

No one seems quite certain what the term "reiki energy" might mean. Reiki practitioners often imagine or describe a flow of energy which follows a channel from above them (from the universe itself) which enters their body via the crown of their head, and gets channeled out the palms of their hands, into the body of the person to whom they give treatment.

Attunement

Gassho gesture, Ronald McDonald statue, Thailand, 2006, by Fred Allendorf

Attunement describes a ritual process by which one is initiated into a level of reiki (shoden, okuden, shinpiden). It involves a shinpiden (master) giving an initiation reiki session to a student. The master/teacher makes special signs over the crown of the student's head with the intention of opening up and "tuning" their energy channels along the spine and out the palms of the hands to provide healing. This includes "installing" symbols into the energy field of the student for her or her access (this assumes that reiki symbols and jumon are basically ineffective for non-initiates until they have been earned in initiation).

Attunement usually starts and ends with a traditional "gassho" gesture (see photo to left).

Level I Shoden

Level I often involves an attunement and a very basic initiation into the concept of reiki energy and hands-on healing.

Level II Okuden

Level II often involves a second attunement and further study into the hands-on and remote uses of reiki energy. At this point students often become familar with reiki symbols and jumon for increasing spiritual power, mental healing, and distance healing.

Level III Shinpiden ("Master")

Those who have been attuned and initiated into the third level, often called "master" level in the West, or shinpiden in more traditional terms, these comprise the top of the reiki hierarchy. Only master-level reiki practitioners have the traditional right to create new reiki masters, much as in Christian tradition only bishops have the power to make someone a priest.

Some have spoken of the "grandmasters" of reiki, but this term appears to have no historical precedent. Hawayo Takata may have invented the rank for her own purposes. Usui himself probably only ever used the title sensei (master/teacher).

FIXME: Judo and Aikido style ranks were used for a time

Traditional Reiki Symbols and Jumon

The reiki symbols (shirushi in Japanese) can be seen as a form of ritual symbolism with an associated phrase (jumon, "spell" or "incantation", sometimes called shingon, "mantra" or "true word"), used to increase reiki energy, or modify reiki energy to treat particular ailments or disorders. In Western reiki the jumon is commonly used as the symbol's name.

There is some debate among reiki practitioners as to whether one should reveal the symbols to the uninitiated, as many reiki practitioners consider them sacred if not utterly secret. Even within reiki the first level initiate (shoden) rarely if ever sees them. The second level initiate (okuden) learn the first three (Cho Ku Rei, Sei He Ki, and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen). The master/teacher (shinpiden) receives some further symbols (Dai Ko Mio and sometimes others as well) during initiation/attunement, but some reiki researchers debate whether these symbols derive from Usui or they originated from his students.

Some other symbols come from traditions which either tap into older Tibetan (and possibly Shinto) sources, or the symbols revealed themselves to later Western masters who taught them to their students.

With the advent of the World Wide Web the secrecy of the symbols has become a rather moot point, as one can easily find them with a [Google Image Search].

Non-traditional or Debated Symbols

Tibetan Fire Serpent

FIXME: mention Arthur Robertson's research and syncretism with his findings of traditional Tibetan initiation reiki

Linguistic Analysis of the Symbols

The symbols, in an English context, can be thought of as "Joycean", in that they often contain condensed Kanji (partially overlapped), Shinto symbolism, or even shorthand Sanskrit, where some elements have been taken off in order to give a specific energy connotation - not unlike James Joyce's portmanteau words in Roman characters, like "electrickery" (electricity/trickery).

Reiki Lineage From Mikao Usui

"Reiki lineage" gets mentioned a lot in reiki practitioner circles. It describes the unbroken chain, from student to master to student, back Usui himself. In searching "reiki lineage" among North American reiki master practitioners on the Web, the count has the vast majority tracing their recent spiritual genealogy to [Rick and Emma Ferguson], with the odd exception of a few reiki practitioners who have sought attunement and initiation from other Japanese reiki. Some have noted feelings of snobbery and competition between the Western branch via Hawaii with the "traditional" branches which claim a more direct connection to Usui's spiritual lineage.

One can think of the "reiki lineage" as similar the Roman Catholic Church's concept of Apostolic Succession, or compare it to a modern piano student who claims "musical descent" from J.S. Bach via the long line of student-teacher relationships.

At best one can imagine reiki lineage as a way to remember and honour ones past masters, and at worst a way to express snobbery in claims to a "purer" form of reiki closer to Usui himself. If the attunement bestows access to limitless universal energy, what difference does it make if you're three more attunements from Usui than another reiki practicioner?

A Common "Family Tree" of Reiki Masters in the West

• Mikao Usui (臼井 甕男, Usui Mikao, 15 August 1865―9 March 1926) - Founder of reiki, Usui taught over 2000 students to use Reiki. 16 of his students continued their training to reach the shinpiden level, equivalent to the Western third degree or master level. Usui died, or "transitioned" (to use a common reiki practitioner phrase), in 1926.
• Chujiro Hiyashi - A former student of Usui, he left the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai after Usui's death and formed his own association. Hiyashi simplified the Reiki teachings, stressing physical healing and using a more codified and simpler set of Reiki techniques.
• Hawayo Takata - She claimed Hiyashi healed her of serious illness using reiki. Apparently with some reluctance, Hiyashi later trained her and initiated her as a master (shinpiden). She travelled widely in the USA, practising Reiki and teaching the first two levels to others. Takata stressed the importance of charging money for Reiki treatments and teachings. In 1976, Takata began teaching and initiating in the shinpiden level and introduced the term "reiki master" for this level. She also fixed a price of $10,000 (U.S. dollars) for the master training. Between 1974 and 1976, Takata initiated and trained 22 Reiki Masters. Almost all reiki taught outside Japan has followed from her work. Takata transitioned in 1979.
• Iris Ishikuro - The 10th Master initiated by Takata, instructed to only train 3 people at the Master level; she trained her daughter, Arthur Robertson, and an unknown person (possibly). She abandoned the practice of charging $10,000 for reiki master training, allowing reiki to spread more widely. Iris apparently taught levels I and II together and asked her student Arthur Robertson to do the same. She transitioned on June 7, 1986.
• Arthur Robertson - He created the Raku Kei Reiki branch of reiki with Iris Ishikuro in the early 1980s. They both may account for a good deal of the Tibetan influence in modern Western reiki.

Arthur Robertson attuned and initiated Rick and Emma Ferguson as reiki masters, and they have been practising and teaching for over 20 years.

Other Reiki traditions

Possible Connections with Tibetan Initiation Reiki

FIXME: mention Arthur Robertson's Tibetan unitiation reiki research

External Links

[James Deacon's Reiki pages]