Reiki - History

The English word reiki derives from the Japanese loanword reiki, meaning "mysterious atmosphere"), which derives from the Chinese loanword língqì ("supernatural influence"). Its earliest recorded usage in English dates to 1975. Instead of the usual transliteration, some English-language authors pseudo-translate reiki as "universal life energy".

Reiki is commonly written as in shinjitai kanji or as in katakana syllabary. It compounds the words rei: "spirit, miraculous, divine") and ki ("gas, vital energy, breath of life, consciousness"). The ki (better known as Chinese qi or ch'i) in reiki is understood as meaning "spiritual energy; vital energy; life force; energy of life". Some reiki translation equivalents from Japanese-English dictionaries are: "feeling of mystery", "an atmosphere (feeling) of mystery", and "an ethereal atmosphere (that prevails in the sacred precincts of a shrine); (feel, sense) a spiritual (divine) presence." Besides the usual Sino-Japanese pronunciation reiki, these kanji have an alternate Japanese reading, namely ryōge, meaning "demon; ghost" (especially in spirit possession).

Chinese língqì was first recorded in the (ca. 320 BCE) Neiye "Inward Training" section of the Guanzi, describing early Daoist meditation techniques. "That mysterious vital energy within the mind: One moment it arrives, the next it departs. So fine, there is nothing within it; so vast, there is nothing outside it. We lose it because of the harm caused by mental agitation." (Mikao Usui)

Origins

The system of Reiki was developed by Mikao Usui in 1922 whilst performing Isyu Guo, a twenty-one day Buddhist training course held on Mount Kurama It is not known for certain what Usui was required to do during this training, though it most likely involved meditation, fasting, chanting, and prayer It is claimed that by a mystical revelation, Usui had gained the knowledge and spiritual power to apply and attune others to what he called Reiki, which entered his body through his crown Chakra In April 1922, Usui moved to Tokyo and founded the Usui Reiki Ryōhō Gakkai in Traditional Mandarin, meaning Usui's Spiritual Energy Therapy Method Society) in order to continue treating people on a large scale with Reiki

According to the inscription on his memorial stone, Usui taught his system of Reiki to over 2000 people during his lifetime, and sixteen of these students continued their training to reach the Shinpiden level, a level equivalent to the Western third, or Master/Teacher, degree. While teaching Reiki in Fukuyama (Fukuyama-shi), Usui suffered a stroke and died on 9 March 1926.