Hello friends
We, Bunny Sjogren and Jane Mutti, have just returned from an inspiring and informative trip to Japan. We went as staff and participant in a Psychology of Vision International Training held in Kyoto and were royally hosted by the Japanese coordinators. While our trip was not specifically designed to research the origins of Reiki and its current practice in Japan, we were able to visit Mt. Kurama and the gravesite of Usui Sensei in Tokyo and meet with three Reiki Masters.
Both before and after our conference we visited Mt Kurama, esteemed by many Japanese as a spiritual refuge and place of feminine energy. Unused to the crowd and bustle of urban life, this sojourn to the mountain was refreshing. On our first trip we stopped at a traditional vegetarian restaurant at the foot of the mountain on the right side just before entering the gates. We were told the food is derived from the traditional monks' dishes. We were welcomed with a cup of cold roasted barley tea which hit the spot on this very warm day. The meal was beautifully presented in multiple bowls on a tray. Miso soup, yam soup, rice and a variety of wild mountain vegetables and pickled vegetables were delectable. After this nourishment we began our walk up the mountain, climbing the steps up to Nio-mon, the Gate of the Guardians, where we paid our admission and received a brochure on Mt. Kurama. We proceeded by way of stone steps and stone paths through forest and quiet gardens, the sites of mini-shrines, to the main temples.
At the San-mon cable car station is a shrine to Sonten, the Supreme Soul of the Universe, a Trinity composed of Mao-son, the great king of the conquerors of evil and the spirit of the earth, representative of power; Bishamon-ten, the protector of the northern quarter of the Buddhist heaven and the spirit of the sun, representative of light; and Senju-kannon, the thousand armed Kannon and the spirit of the moon, representative of love. Plaques with the Sanskrit bija for power, light, and love, the latter familiar to us as the second symbol are mounted behind the standing deity.
Our understanding from Hyakuten-san, Reiki Master and Buddhist monk, is that Kannon (Kwan Yin in China) and the Amida Buddha represent the same energy. In John Stevens book "The Sacred Calligraphy of the East", he writes that the Sanskrit bija hrih stands for the Amida Nyorai (Amitabha Tatagata), Buddha of Infinite Light and Life, and lord of the western paradise. This Buddha vowed to bring anyone who invoked his name with a sincere heart to his Pure Land. Amida's merit is so great he can transfer it freely to weak and foolish people who have no other hope of salvation. He is our great friend who will never abandon us. The seed character of Amida is found everywhere; it is a single-letter nembutsu , "Hail to Amida Buddha." It is the most propitious sign possible and ensures good luck. And indeed we saw it frequently on prayer sticks.
Interestingly we also have another connection to Amida Buddha through Takata Sensei whose ashes were interred at the Honpa Hongwanji Hilo Betsuin in Hawaii, the oldest Jodo Shinshu organization in the West which follows the Essential Teaching of the Pure Land Way, the teaching which brings all people to Amida Buddha's perfect Compassion and Love.
The Kurama Temple, founded in A.D. 770, offers this
Prayer for Happiness to the Sonten of KuramayamaOh, Sonten,
- Beautiful as the Moon,
Warm as the Sun,
Powerful as the Earth,Bestow your blessing upon us to uplift mankind and increase our riches and glory.
In this holy place, grant that peace may defeat discord, unselfishness may conquer greed, sincere words may overcome deceit, and that respect may surmount insults.
Fill our hearts with joy, uplift our spirits, and fill our bodies with glory.Sonten, Great Lord of the Universe, Great Light, Great Mover, bestow upon us who gather to worship you, upon those who strive to touch your heart, a new strength and glorious light.
We trust in Sonten for all things.
Pagodas, shrines, temples, a belfry, museum, sacred and historical sites decorate the path both up and down the mountain, a total distance of nearly 3 km. Tenporin-do, a temple on the right of the great stairs leading to the Honden (main hall), houses a great statue of the Amida Buddha. A five strand rope tied to the Buddha's hand extends down beneath the floor to a resting room for believers where one can grasp the rope in prayer and be directly connected to the Buddha.
At the apex of the mountain the stone path gives way to earth and the exposed intertwining roots of ancient cedar trees. The story of Usui Sensei stubbing his toe comes vividly to life here.
On our second visit to Mt Kurama we preceded our climb with a soak in the hotsprings at Kurama Onsen. Relaxing and purifying. We took the left path up bypassing the cable car and walking through Yuki Shrine with its revered, monumental cedar trees. The deep connection between spirit and nature, the moving force through Reiki, is palpable on this mountain and in its temples and shrines. The easy coexistence of Shintoism and Buddhism is exemplified here, both influential in the character of anyone raised in this country.
While in Kyoto we met with our new friend, Hyakuten-san, initiated by Yamaguchi Sensei, now in her 80's, who was 19 when initiated by Hayashi Sensei. Hyakuten-san is a delightful man, mystic, Buddhist scholar, natural teacher, and lover of Hawaii and hula. We had been communicating with him by email prior to our visit and arranged to spend a day with him. We walked over his home ground, through the Yasaka Shrine, by the place where he stands with his begging bowl, up the steps to the Ryozen Kwannon (also called Kannon, or Kwan Yin in Chinese) with its startling presence of a 24 m. concrete statue of the compassionate Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara set against the evergreen-covered eastern mountain range of Kyoto. Her merciful face looks down on a placid pool as she presides over this Tribute to The Unknown Soldier of WW II. Then on to Kiyomizu Temple along narrow cobbled streets closely lined by tile roofed homes with miniature gardens in their entryways. Hyakuten-san gave dharma talks to the young members of our group at various points along the way; a Reiki class in the making.
We continued our visit two days later in transit to and in the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Osaka where we were being hosted by one of the Japanese seminar leaders. He had use of the suite on the 36th floor with a commanding view of the continuous cities of Osaka and Kobe and their harbor and ports. The juxtaposition of our guest the monk and the material wealth of our surroundings, and the ease and grace with which both could be assimilated and accepted was inspiring and comforting. We talked about the history of Reiki, the various lineages, and the precepts. His understanding of the history was that Usui Sensei had taught a number of Masters among them several Naval officers including Chujiro Hayashi.
According to Hyakuten-san's Reiki Master, Hayashi Sensei made little mention of Usui Sensei and developed his own clinic and system of practice and training. He initiated a number of Masters including Yamaguchi Sensei in May 1937 and Takata Sensei in February 1938 who was his 13th Master. Not wanting to participate in the war, he killed himself in 1940. This of course may be a matter of interpretation, differing between Yamaguchi Sensei's and Takata Sensei's experience of the event. Usui Sensei formed an organization, The Reiki Society (Usui Shiki Reiki Ryoho), of which he was first President. This Society has been presided over by a succession of Masters and is extant today.
Hyakuten-san's interpretation of the precepts as written on the memorial stone for Usui Sensei were Just for today don't get angry; Just for today don't worry; Be thankful (grateful); Do your best to strive or work with diligence; and Be kind to others. Because of his Buddhist background, his reverence for life, his embodiment of Reiki, as well as his smiling countenance, Hyakuten-san reminded us of a living Usui Sensei.
In Tokyo we were guided by Yoshiko-san, a Reiki Master and a fellow Psychology of Vision student, to Saihoji temple, the site of Usui Sensei's grave and memorial stone. We did not feel out of integrity or disrespectful in visiting the gravesite. The memorial stone was obviously erected for Usui Sensei's disciples to read, to help keep his great work alive. The stone was impressive in its size and the amount of information chiseled into it in columns of old kanji. We were delighted when we recognized the kanji for Reiki. We had with us a translation of the inscription made by Frank Petter, available in his book "Reiki Fire" and on William Rand's website.
We were most touched by the emphasis on the five precepts and the practice of meditating on them morning and evening. The slight discrepancy between the precepts here and those given by Takata Sensei were not important to us as the energy remains the same. The imperative on the stone to "Work on your heart and do things from the quiet space inside of you" and the hope that "If Reiki can be spread throughout the world it will touch the human heart and the morals of society. It will be helpful for many people, not only healing disease, but the Earth as a whole" were inspiring.
On our last day in Japan we were met at the Canadian Embassy (where we were staying courtesy of our traveling companion) by Toshitaka Mochizuki who is a Reiki Master and mutual friend of Hyakuten-san and Junji-san, our host and seminar leader at the Ritz Carlton. Toshitaka-san, also a Psychology of Vision student, had attended The Reiki Alliance gathering in Oregon in 1997. He brought us two books on Reiki (both in Japanese), one by himself and another from 1933. We spent several hours talking about the history and how he teaches Reiki today. He has studied Reiki with numerous masters Eastern and Western and considers Frank Petter to be his Master.
His take on the spread of Reiki was that Ushida Sensei and Taketomi Sensei, both of whom succeeded Usui Sensei as presidents of The Reiki society, taught slowly with longer time intervals between the levels (there were more than three), taught select people, and charged higher fees. After their time fees fell. His explanation was that before 1945 the Yen was valued at 100 times more than now so that a fee of 10,000 yen became only 100 yen. Thus the large amount paid by Hawayo Takata to Chujiro Hayashi in 1938 may be more than subsequent masters paid after the war. Following devaluation of the yen, classes were within reach of a larger number of people and more people were taught Reiki more rapidly in Japan.
Some Reiki masters published books on Reiki and the method of its practice including the precepts and the importance of meditating on them morning and evening, a discipline drawn from the Meiji emperor. Chujiro Hayashi received a handbook from Usui Sensei to which he made some minor amendments. This was handed down to Hawayo Takata. So there is more than an oral history available to guide us in the explication of Reiki.
While carrying the essence of Reiki as it was revealed to Usui Sensei, each of his initiated masters chose how it would be practiced and passed on. Thus some formed clinics; some initiated many masters, others only a single master; Toshihiro Eguchi wanted to teach "Hand Healing" to many peope at a cost as low as possible. He did this and initiated many disciples. He did not call what he was doing Reiki which was the reputable and acceptable way of altering a practice.
Toshitaka-san has initiated a number of Masters. He describes his current method as follows: "We teach a group of about 40 people with 12 masters, 2 masters teaching and supervising the students practice while the other 10 masters do the initiations. We take 10 to 15 minutes to give the initiation. We give 4 initiations for the first level, 3 for the second level and also 3 for the third level. As for the fourth level to become a master, we dont give any initiation but teach them the ability and mental attitude necessary to teach and initiate others." His company, Vortex, in addition to giving Reiki workshops, also provides seminars in other alternative healing methods for which other partners in the company are responsible.
Our appreciation of Reiki and our understandings about Reiki grew as a result of being in Japan. For a Japanese master, so much of what Reiki is on both a spiritual and material level, is in the blood and bones, in the culture. For the westerner there is a mystery about Reiki as even the kanji are unfamiliar, more so the symbols. Because kanji are part and parcel of everyday life for the Japanese, the symbols, while sacred, are not mysterious. They are meaningful as is. Westerners require a translation and this may be where many of our misconceptions arose moving from Hayashi Sensei to Takata Sensei to her masters and down the line to their masters and students. No doubt those masters initiated by Takata Sensei felt a closer presence to the Japanese essence of Reiki.
While knowing the facts may be comforting and may be sufficient for some, we cannot recommend highly enough the direct experience of Reiki in Japan. We are eternally grateful for the opportunity we have had to be in the country and to talk with Japanese masters of a variety of lineages. And we are eternally grateful that the blessed energy of Reiki teaches and heals regardless of historical facts. Our essential relationship with Reiki remains unchanged.