The Hidden Treasure of Reiki

Bronwen and Frans Stiene, founders of the International House of Reiki, were continually coming across hints that suggested there was more to Reiki than meets the eye. Historical discrepancies, symbol variations and changed attunements suggested that Reiki had become somewhat like a game of Chinese whispers. They decided to journey to Japan, Reiki's homeland, to see if there were any Reiki truths to be uncovered in the Land of the Rising Sun. Here, traditional Japanese Reiki communities with ancient practitioners were slowly opening their doors to Westerners and many of Reiki's unknown secrets were slowly being divulged.

Reiki's treasure is its ability to re-fuel you with your own life giving energy. It is generally accepted that this speeds up physical and emotional healing, gives clarity and added perception, brings about spiritual fulfilment and will return you to your true path in life.

To learn Reiki is simple and yet today the processes vary considerably from school to school. Reiki was created by Mikao Usui in the early 1900s and came to the West via Hawaii in the1940s. Here it seems it was quietly altered to adapt to the turbulent times of World War II in which Japan was now 'the enemy'. The consequences are that for the last 60 years Western Reiki students have been unaware that there was a more traditional and spiritual side to Reiki.

To return to the beginning of our journey of discovery we originally studied to become Reiki Masters in Kathmandu, Nepal. Soon afterwards we found ourselves opening and running a Reiki centre in Darjeeling in the Indian Himalaya for a year. Funnily enough this had been predicted for us by a follower of India's famous healer Sai Baba - but that's another story. We were intrigued by Reiki's many unanswered questions and eventually returned to Sydney to begin researching Reiki more thoroughly. Here we found innumerable inconsistencies in the stories that Reiki Masters were telling their students. Some believed Reiki was Egyptian, others that it was Tibetan some that it was linked to Shambala or Atlantis. Was Mikao Usui, the founder of Reiki, a doctor or not? Did he charge $10, 000 dollars to become a Reiki Master? Did he use manuals to teach? Did he teach 3 levels, 4 levels or even 7 levels of Reiki? Was he a Christian? A Buddhist? We were beginning to wonder if he even existed!

Deciding to re-train and study Usui Reiki Ryoho and eventually Gendai Reiki Ho are probably the two best things we have done in our Reiki practice to date. Both courses were created for the West by Hiroshi Doi, a Japanese Reiki Master, who is a member of the original Reiki Gakkai, or society. This Gakkai has been likened to a secret society and it does not share its knowledge willingly. Hiroshi Doi is the first Japanese Reiki Master to have written a book about Reiki that has been translated into English. Studying in his lineage meant that we were no longer energetically linked to the Western style of Reiki.

Our next step was to visit Japan. We wanted to find out more about this Reiki Gakkai, to visit Mikao Usui's memorial stone and to see Mount Kurama where it is said that Mikao Usui achieved satori. There was also a curious story circulating of a 106 year old Tendai nun called Suzuki san (san is added as form of politeness). It is said that she lives in a monastery near Kyoto, is a cousin of Mikao Usui's and has studied Reiki with him. All our meetings had been formally arranged before leaving Australia except this one. Meeting her without an introduction was unlikely as we had understood that it was even rude to call someone on the phone in Japan if you hadn't been introduced beforehand. Though this was the case we still held out some naive hope that we might bump into her. Our Japanese tour promised us a new culture, new Reiki information, even intrigue and yet we still felt there was something intangible for us to discover within the world of Reiki - we were hoping that Japan could provide us with this hidden treasure.

Mikao Usui's memorial stone has only recently been discovered by the West. It had been placed in a temple's grounds by Mikao Usui's students in 1927, one year after his death. From our Tokyo hotel it turned out to be within walking distance. 50 metres from the graveyard itself uncharacteristically two non-English speaking Japanese stopped us in our tracks and pointed at the skyline. We looked and looked until, suddenly, we realised that we were staring at Japan's greatest tourist attraction, the top of Mt Fuji. To this day we have no idea if it is possible to view Mt Fuji from Tokyo but the mirage added an excited spring to our steps as we entered the Temple grounds. It was wonderful to stand in front of Mikao Usui's memorial stone aware that Westerners had overlooked it for at least 60 years, a true Reiki treasure.
The memorial stone says that Mikao Usui felt 'one great Reiki over his head'. This stone is written in old Japanese (pre-1940s Japan) and therefore the original translation of the word Reiki is used - 'spiritual energy'. This spiritual energy would then have cleared his energy lines and allowed him to take in extra energy which he then began to use to heal others. From this point on Mikao Usui helped people and started to teach others how to follow in his footsteps. He created attunement processes to try to imitate his own experience so that his students could practice the technique on themselves. In total Mikao Usui taught 17 Reiki Masters.

On translation this memorial stone answers many of the questions which have arisen in the Western Reiki community. Mikao Usui was not, and never was, a doctor or physician - instead he had worked as a businessman (who eventually went bankrupt), a journalist, a lay monk and as an administrator and security guard to the Major of Tokyo. This information was also verified by the Japanese Reiki Masters we met along our journey.

There are claims that Reiki is Egyptian, Atlantian, Tibetan etc.. but the information we found leads us to understand that it is a technique discovered in Japan by a Japanese individual. That is not to say that energy techniques from other countries are not unlike Reiki - there is sure to be a similarity between all healing techniques through out the ages. If we look at the 4 symbols used with Japanese Reiki we see that two are translatable Japanese kanji and the other two are taken from religious backgrounds. We saw one of these symbols drawn repeatedly in the Japanese spiritual centres that we visited and yet another one of these symbols we found in a Japanese Encyclopaedia. The symbols do not have names as we have been taught in the West. Instead they are called, simply, symbol 1, 2 , 3 and 4.

Kyoto and it's 1000s of temples are surrounded by mountains. One of these is Mt Kurama which we climbed with swarms of Japanese Tourists piled high with tripods and digital cameras. Autumn is lush, green, gold and red in Japan - the perfect time for the Japanese to flex their photography skills. Though we'd like to issue a warning to all foreign visitors- avoid Japanese tourist attractions on weekends!. As we piled into the crowded cable car going down hill we wondered where our hidden treasure might be buried and was it very deep?

Kyoto introduced us to Hyakuten san, both Japanese Pure Land monk and Reiki Master. His information re-iterated that Reiki was a Japanese technique. He also claimed that what is practised in the West is Dr Hayashi's Reiki rather than Mikao Usui's Reiki. So there may very well have been variations made to Reiki before it even left Japan's shores for the West. His knowledge of the Gakkai taught us that a number of Usui's Reiki Masters began the Gakkai and they do not ask $10,000 to become a Reiki Master but do ask for a life long commitment to Reiki. Members of the Gakkai come together on a weekly basis and build their energy through traditional techniques using Reiki. Once they have accomplished a set of exercises they then move on to the next level. There are three levels in total.

Hyakuten san also set us up to meet an 80 year old woman who had supposedly been taught as a Reiki Master by Dr Hayashi, a student of Mikao Usui. We enjoyed chatting with Mrs Yamaguchi who was a lovely old lady. She assured us too that there were just 3 levels of Reiki which Dr Hayashi taught.

And still the hidden treasure managed to elude us.

One more Japanese Reiki Master awaited us in Tokyo. The appearance of a second Reiki Master at our meeting place was a surprise especially when we learnt that he was a member of the secret Reiki Gakkai. We could barely contain our excitement. After some polite small talk we were put through, what we later realised was, a test. We were asked to draw the Reiki symbols and then to explain their connecting energies to see if we understood their true meanings. We now know that the Gakkai uses a manual which students had originally copied by hand from that of Mikao Usui. Today this manual is printed in modern Japanese and includes beautiful Japanese poetry to stimulate the mind as well as a healing guide for beginning practitioners. The Gakkai also uses techniques to stimulate the meridians and to help practitioners to feel the energy.

Yes, Reiki has many treasures - some well known and others just now returning to the light. Suzuki san is surely one of Reiki's great treasures. To find out more about her Frans flew on to Florence, Italy to study with 2 of her students, Andy Bowling and Chris Marsh. He learnt that there are in fact 12 students of Mikao Usui's still alive aged between 97 and 117. Suzuki san is said to have amazing healing qualities not unlike the stories we have heard of Mikao Usui himself. Suzuki san also claims that he was a devoted Tendai practitioner for his whole life. She asked her 2 students to please teach the truth about Reiki and believes that the energy itself will guide people to the truth.

Truth. We realised then that it was Truth that we were continually striving for and that our search for all those beautiful glittering treasures kept bringing us back to Reiki's greatest hidden treasure. Its Simplicity. For us, the Connection with Reiki's history and teachers and teachings bonds us to the sense of Reiki. And that sense is Pure and Simple.

Reiki is about to change. It will not become more complex or difficult or contain more jargon as has happened in the past. It will simply return to its simplest, highest form and we, as individuals, will blossom taking our communities with us.

Bronwen Stiene is a Reiki Master from the International House of Reiki. The International House of Reiki teaches all three levels of Reiki throughout Australia. Freecall1800 000 992. For the most recent information about Reiki check out Reiki International

© 2002 International House of Reiki

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