A History
The origin of Reiki can be traced back to ancient Tibet, thousands of years ago. This technique was re-discovered in mid-1800's by Dr. Usui of Japan.
In 1822, Kyoto, Japan, Dr. Usui (a Christian minister) gave a sermon one day. After the service, two seminary students asked him to explain how Jesus did the miracles of healing, and whether or not he could perform those same miracles. Dr. Usui was not able to answer "Yes" to the question. He felt he understood the bible intellectually, but he did not understand how Jesus healed.
This marked the beginning of Dr. Usui's lifelong quest to uncover the source of ancient healing techniques. Upon his return to Japan, it occurred to Dr. Usui that Buddha had performed the same miracles as Jesus. He too, had healed the sick and was able to tap into a great source of energy- the universe. The Buddhist's main focus and concentration was on the spirit and not the body.
Dr. Usui then went to a Zen monastery. He asked the same question of the head monk. Do the Zens know how to heal the body? The monk explained that they concentrated heavily on healing the spirit and there just was no time left over to focus on the healing of the physical body. He first studied the Japanese translations of the Buddhist scriptures, through meditations, Dr. Usui was guided to learn Sanskrit so that he could read the original Buddhist writing that had never been translated into another language.
After such a long and hard search, it would appear that Dr, Usui had found what he sought. Although he believed he had uncovered the knowledge, he still did not have the power to heal. He discussed this with his old friend, the monk. Together they meditated upon the path to take. It came to them that Dr. Usui should go to a designated place on the holy Mount Kuri Yama. There he was to fast for twenty-one days and meditate , during this time he would receive enlightenment, spiritual insight and understanding.
Dr. Usui climbed Kuri Yama to the level he was told to go and selected a spot facing the east. He gathered twenty-one small stones and placed them in front of him. Every morning he would rise before the sun and would throw away one of the stones to keep count of the days.He meditated and fasted each day. On the twenty-first day, Dr. Usui awakened to a dark morning. He prayed before throwing the last stone. He asked god for confirmation of his findings and to be given the enlightenment of how to use it.
As he threw the stone off the side of the mountain, a light appeared from far off the east. It grew larger as it moved towards him. The light became very bright, streamed across the heavens and hit him directly in his third eye. Then came the powerful bright light, followed by golden Sanskrit letters -- the secret formula of the Universal Life Energy and how to connect with it. Finally, when it was all over, Dr. Usui had an overwhelming feeling of having just had a great rest; he felt full of life and energy.
He jumped to his feet. He wanted to hurry back and tell the monk of his exciting news. In his rush, he stubbed his toe on a rock. He reached down to comfort the pain and to stop the bleeding. As soon as he put his hands on his hurt toe, the pain and bleeding began to dissipate very rapidly. He realized that something was different about the energy in his hands; his hands were very hot.
After healing his toe, he continued down the mountain. As he walked back to the monastery, he was greeted in spirit by the teachers who were with him on Mount Kuri Yama. This time the teachers gave him the Five Spiritual Principles of Reiki:
