Reiki Jin Kei Do: The Way of Compassion & Wisdom

The Following article was written for and appeared in the October 2006 issue of the online magazine 'The Reiki Times', published by 'The International Association of Reiki Professionals'. I thought it was worth giving it a wider airing here:

In writing my book ‘Reiki Jin Kei Do: The Way of Compassion & Wisdom’ I wanted to show that the system of Reiki can be seen as much more than a hands on therapy. Whilst acknowledging the value that such an approach to the system has and the great benefit that its application in this way has had and continues to have in the world, there is in my view an all together more important way of engaging with it.

In many books over recent years there has been a tacit nod in the direction of acknowledging modern Reiki’s roots within Usui’s original method of personal and spiritual liberation. As research continues to uncover more and more about Usui and the early expression of his system, it is becoming clearer that the founder of the method did not develop or teach an energy therapy. This side of the system which was expanded upon by Usui’s student Chujiro Hayashi was not it would appear, regarded by Usui as being of any great significance.

Having acknowledged Reiki’s early orientation as a self development system, none of the books currently available on Reiki actually go on to describe in any meaningful sense just how a contemporary practitioner could engage with the system in this way. Some seem to simply mention the practice of sitting with hands in ‘gassho’ (prayer position in front of the heart) prior to or after a treatment as an expression of this ‘spiritual method’. Others suggest that meditation should be used as a part of the practice, but fail to describe exactly which meditation methods or how to do them.

Reiki Jin Kei Do approaches the system of Reiki from the stand point that it is in the first instance a method for the practitioner to engage with for their own journey of awakening. This is of great importance. Whilst no claim is made that Reiki Jin Kei Do is the original Usui method, or closer to Usui’s approach than other Reiki methods, it does have a very strong resonance with Usui’s orientation to the practice as far as it is possible to tell. In this tradition the attaining of the state of enlightenment or re-union with the God-force is the goal of practice – it is the reason for being involved with Reiki. This is what I have set out to describe in my book and so give a flavour of an approach to Reiki that may seem somewhat at odds with the generally accepted approach to the modern expression of the system.

The value in the Reiki Jin Kei Do method is derived from its indebtedness to the larger Buddhist healing system of the Buddho (or Buddho-EnerSense which is also taught within the Reiki Jin Kei Do lineage). It is known that Usui had access to at least a part of the Buddho system and from which it is believed he extracted key elements to add to his development of his secular system. Reiki Jin Kei Do is very much flavoured by this older method. Meditations (including a simplified version of the Buddho meditation – the meditation that Usui used during his 21 day fast on Mt Kurama)) and the Reiki Jin Kei Do philosophy are derived from the Buddho canon as are other methods and points of practice that flesh out the body of the Reiki Jin Kei Do approach to Reiki.

Reiki Jin Kei Do does share the concern in utilizing the significant potential of the system for the healing of others on all levels via direct application of the Reiki energy however. This is largely due to the fact that it has in part a common ancestry with the Hawayo Takata lineage through Mikao Usui and Chujiro Hayashi. Reiki Therapeutics is seen in some respects as one of the culminations of practice. As we develop our innate wisdom mind which automatically gives rise to feelings of compassion for all beings, we develop a strong urge to apply our Reiki ability for the relief of suffering in the world. The most natural expression of this is through the use of Reiki as a hands-on method.

There is a fine distinction here which it is important to recognize. Whilst the goal of practice in the first instance is not the use of Reiki as a therapy, it is very much one of the destinations to which we are ultimately led. We need to focus on ourselves first. We need to develop ourselves first and heal ourselves and remove our attachments to the world of suffering that is all around us (it is our attachments in fact that cause this suffering). Our primary goal is in fact the development of our own minds. It is the achieving of enlightenment that is the most crucial in the full expression of the Reiki Jin Kei Do teachings. As we take this journey for our own benefit, we find that we have so much more to give to others. We apply Reiki mindfully, with a sense of compassion and a proactive commitment to making the world a better place for all. We take the path of the Bodhisattva.

Given this primary goal of developing our own wisdom minds and our hearts of compassion there is then unsurprisingly, a very strong focus within the tradition on meditation. Several methods are taught from quite simple techniques for beginners at 1st Degree through to highly complex approaches at the 3rd Degree. Meditation is very much the cornerstone of this approach to Reiki as it is also in the Buddho-EnerSense method.

I think that in considering what the Reiki Jin Kei Do approach can offer, it is important to recognise that there is not a sense in which it is thought to be better than other approaches to Reiki. It shares many common values with other lineages and of course also shares key people in the transmission of its teachings. It is quite simply a different approach to the system. It has in common with other traditions of Reiki, via a different emphasis of methodology, the potential to solve all of the world’s problems and lead humanity to a place of sustainable peace and harmony. If only we can develop the wisdom to realize that it is within our grasp and there for the taking at any time that we so choose.