There are many forms of Reiki and other energy healing systems out there. Most commonly when someone refers to ‘Reiki’, they are referring to ‘Traditional Usui Reiki”.
Traditional Usui Reiki comes from Dr. Mikao Usui of Japan. There are many stories, legends, and histories about Master Usui and Reiki, this explanation is my best interpretation of him.
Dr. Usui was a physician in the late nineteenth century, he frequently treated the poor in the slums of Japan. In addition to being a physician, he was also a scholar, he researched and collected information about an ancient Tibetan (Buddhist) healing system called Reiki. He went as far as to learn Chinese and Sanskrit to aid in his understanding of texts he discovered. Over the years he was able to understand what ‘Reiki’ energy was, but did not know how to use or access it. As he treated his patients, he became more and more determined to find out how to use Reiki to heal the sick. Dr. Usui’s determination lead him to go on a pilgrimage to find how to access Reiki energy.
Dr. Usui began his pilgrimage on the Japanese sacred mountain of Kori-yama (Mt. Kurama). He placed 21 stones in a sack to mark the passing days where he fasted, meditated, and prayed. The number 21 is of significance in Buddhism, and can be found in reference to the Sutras, Taras, prayer beads, etc.
Dr. Usui stayed on Kori-yama (Mt. Kurama) for 21 days, and found nothing. I can feel his sense of defeat, that he went on a quest and did not receive the knowledge he was so desperately seeking. He packed up his belongings, tossing the last stone away, he made his way down the mountain, and then he saw a great sight! A wonderous light came towards him, like lightening! This Great light struck him in the third-eye area of his head and he ‘downloaded’ the Reiki energy. This action that took place was the first Reiki Attunement. Dr. Usui from that point on was able to access (channel) Reiki energy.
In his later years Dr. Usui attuned several people, one of high honor was Chujiro Hayashi who organized Reiki into Levels I, II, & III, and created the hand positions that we still use today. Chujiro Hayashi later attuned Hawayo Takata, a woman who was the first to become a Reiki Master--after much begging and pleading from her. Hawayo Takata brought Reiki to Hawaii towards the end of World War I, without her, Reiki may have been lost again, and we would have never received this beautiful energy. In Traditional Usui Reiki, these are our Reiki Grand Masters, because of their knowledge, their pursuits, and tenacity we are able to experience this profound energy.
As I previously stated above, this is merely one of several Reiki histories that are available to us in this digital information age, however many legends that may exist, this one is highlights the information about how modern Reiki came to be.
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