History
Usui Mikao Sensei (1865 – 1926), a Japanese Tendai Buddhist Priest is the founder of Reiki Ryoho. As part of his Buddhist traning Usui would have been working towards achieving Satori, a state of Spiritual Enlightenment. It is said that during his 21 day fasting and meditation on Mount Kurama in Kyoto he had an experience of mystical enlightenment and of awakening of his natural ability to heal self and others. He learned how to channel the energy of the universe through the body and pass it into the others.
In April 1922 Dr. Usui opened his first clinic in Harajuki, Tokyo, where he practised and taught Reiki. He also established the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (Society) for the purpose of imparting his original teachings. Usui thought that his wonderful gift of healing ability should be shared with people.
In the 1940's there were about 40 Reiki schools in Japan. Sometimes the class structure varied. The Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai still exists in Japan where Reiki is still practised.
In 1920 Usui met Chujiro Hayashi, a 47 years old reserve naval officer and doctor. Hayashi bacame a dedicated student of Usui and became Usui's successor. He opened a healing clinic in Tokyo where healers worked in groups on people who lived at the clinic during their time of healing. He was also one of the directors of Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. In 1931 he left the Gakkai and set up “Hayashi Reiki Kenkyu Kai”. Hayashi had many students and he made 13 teachers, one of them Mrs. Hawayo Takata.
Hawayo Takata was born in 1900 on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. In 1935 when visiting her relatives in Japan she came to Hayashi’s clinic for treatment of a serous desease. After a few months of daily Reiki tratments her illness was gone completely and she was so impressed by her recovery that she was convinced she wanted to dedicate her life to working with Reiki. She became a student of Hayashi for a year and in 1937 she returned to Hawaii where she opened the first Reiki clinic in the West. Mrs. Takata continued to run her clinic and teach Reiki extensively in US and Canada. Until her death in 1980 she has trained 22 Masters.
The Reiki Principles
Dr. Mikao Usui adopted five admonitions to live by from the Meiji Emperor, that if applied with Reiki, would heal the body, bring peace of mind, and happiness in life.
- Just for today, do not worry
- Just for today, do not anger
- Honor your parents, teachers, and elders
- Earn your living honestly
- Show gratitude to everything