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" The art and power of natural healing "
THE HISTORY OF REIKI
(THE USUI SYSTEM OF NATURAL HEALING)
The
story of Reiki to date has been an oral history, that is, passed
on form teacher to student by word of mouth. This is the story as
others and I have heard it: 
The founder of Reiki as natural
healing is Dr. Mikao Usui. At the turn of the century, late
1800’s Dr. Usui was the president of a small Christian
University in Kyoto, Japan, Doshishua University. He was also a
Christian minister.An interchange with a student at the beginning
of a Sunday service changed the focus of Dr. Usui’s life. As
Dr. Usui was beginning one of the last Sunday services of the
school year, a senior student about to graduate raised his hand
and asked Dr. Usui;“Do you accept the contents of the Bible
literally?’Dr. Usui answered that indeed he did. The student
went on :“In the Bible it says that Jesus cured the sick,
that he healed, and that he walked on water. You accept this as
written, have you ever seen this happen?’The student went on
to say“For you, Dr. Usui, that kind of blind faith is
enough, for you have lived your life and are secure. 
For us who
are just beginning our adult lives and who have many questions
and concerns, it is not enough. We need to see with our own
eyes.”A seed had been sown. The next day Dr. Usui resigned
his position as President of Doshishua University and came to the
United State to the University of Chicago where he received a 
doctorate degree in
scripture trying to uncover the secret of how Jesus and his
disciples healed the sick. He had not found what he
sought.Realizing that in the Buddhist tradition it is held that
the Buddha had the power to heal., he decided to return to Japan
and see what he could learn from Buddhism.Upon his return to
Japan, Dr. Usui began to visit the Buddhist manasteries searching
for someone who had an interest in and some knowledge of physical
healing. He always received the same answer to his inquiries.
“ We are too busy with healing the spirit to worry about healing the body.”
At long last he found someone who was at least interested in the problem of physical healing, an elderly abbott of a Zen monastery. Dr. Usui requested that he be admitted to the monastery so that he could study the Buddhist scriptures, the sutras, in search of the key of healing. He was admitted and so began his study.
He studied the Japanese
translations of the Buddhist scriptures but did not find the
explanation he sought. He learned Chinese so that a wider range
of Buddhist writings were available to him, still without
success.
He then decided to learn Sanskrit, the ancient language, so that he could read the original Buddhist writings and have access to those writings that had never been translated into another language. Finally, he found what he had been looking for, in the teachings of the Buddha that had been written down by some unknown disciple as the Buddha spoke, Dr. Usui found the formula, the symbols, the description of how Buddha healed.
And so at the end of a seven-year search, Dr. Usui had found what he sought-but not quite. Although he had uncovered the knowledge, he did not have the power to heal. Discussing this with his old friend, he decided to go to a mountain and meditate, to seek the power to heal .He told him that it could be dangerous, that he could lose his life. Dr. Usui answered that he had come this far and would not turn back.
Dr. Usui climbed one of the sacred mountains of Japan and meditated for twenty-one days. On the first day he placed twenty-one small stones in front of him, and as each day passed he threw one away.
On
the twenty-first day, Dr. Usui became aware of a beam of light
from the heavens that came shooting towards him. Although he was
afraid, he did not move but was struck by the light and knocked
over. Then in rapid succession he saw before him like bubbles of
light the symbols that he had discovered in his study, the key to
the healing of Buddha and Jesus. The symbols burned themselves
into his memory. When
the trance was over Dr. Usui no longer felt exhausted, stiff, or
hungry as he had moments before on that last day of his
meditation.He got up and began to walk down the mountain. On his
way he stubbed his big toe, tearing back the toenail. He jumped
with pain and grabbed his toe with his hand. In minutes the pain
left, the bleeding stopped and his toe was well on the way to
healing.When he got off the mountain he stopped at an outside
vendor’s stall and ordered breakfast. The old man at the
stall, seeing the length of his facial hair and the condition of
his clothes realized that he had been on a long fast and said
that it would not upset his long empty stomach. He directed Dr.
Usui to go and sit under a tree on a bench to wait.Soon the
Daughter of the man came with his breakfast. As he looked Dr.
Usui saw that the had been crying and that her face was swollen
and red on one side.He asked her what was wrong and she replied
that she had a toothache for three days. He asked if he could
touch her face, and with her permission he cupped her cheeks in
his hands. In a few minutes the pain left her and the swelling
began to recede.Returning to the monastery in the evening, Dr.
Usui was told that his friend, the abbott, was in bed
suffering from a painful attack of arthritis. After bathing and
having something to eat, Dr. Usui went to see his friend and with
his healing hands relieved his pain. For the next seven years Dr.
Usui worked in a beggar camp in Japan healing the sick. Those
that were young and able he sent off to find work. After seven
years he began to see those that he had helped returning to the
beggar camp in the same condition that he had found them. He
asked the people why they had returned to the camp and they
answered that they preferred their old way of life. Dr. Usui
realized that he had healed the physical body of symptoms but has
not taught appreciation for life of a new way of living. He left
the beggar camp and began to teach others who wished to know
more. He taught them how to heal themselves and gave them the
Principles of Reiki to help their thoughts. 
One of the these students , Chujiro
Hayashi, a retired Naval Officer, was seeking a way to serve
others. He found Dr. Usui, was initiated by him, and became
deeply involved in the practice of Reiki. When Usui’s life
was drawing to a close, he recognized Dr. Hayashi as the Master
of Reiki and charged him with keeping the essence of his
teachings intact. Dr. Hayashi, realizing the importance of a
system and record keeping, founded a clinic in Tokyo where people
could come for treatment and to learn Reiki. From the clinic
there were practitioners who would go out and treat those who
could not come to the clinic. He left records demonstrating that
Reiki finds the source of the physical symptoms, fills the
vibration or energy need, and restores the body to wholeness. One
day in 1935, a young woman from Hawaii , was brought to the
clinic by an employee of a surgical hospital in Tokyo. This
woman, Hawayo Takata, had come to 
Japan to have an operation for a
tumor. In the hospital as the prepared herself for the surgery,
she had a sense that the operation was not necessary and that
there was another way. She had been led to Reiki. During Mrs.
Takata’s experiences and treatments at the clinic, her
illness lessened and her desire to learn Reiki grew. When her
treatments were almost finished, she asked to be admitted to a
beginning class. She was refused she realized she must
demonstrate a deep commitment to Reiki. She went to Dr. Hayashi
and told him her feelings and her willingness to stay in Japan as
long as was necessary. He consented to begin her training.
Mrs.Takata, with her two daughters, stayed in Japan with the
Hayashi family for a year, learning by practicing Reiki every day
and being with Hayashi. When both felt the training was
completed, Mrs. Takata returned to Hawai with her gift of healing
.In Hawali her practice flourished and soon Hayashi and his
daughter came to visit. They stayed several months, teaching
training, and being with Mrs. Takata, In February 1938, Hawayo
Takata was initiated as a Master of the Usui System of Natural
Healing. Soon after the initiation, Hayashi and his daughter
returned to Japan.
Dr. Hayashi had a sense that a war was coming between the United States and Japan. He could not reconcile being a Reiki Master and having to serve again in the Navy. He began to set the affairs of his household in order. During this time, Mrs. Takata in Hawai had a vivid dream that caused her concern. She arrived, Dr. Hayashi told her many things: that the war was coming, who would win, what she must do and where she must go to avoid trouble for herself as she was a Japanese- American living in Hawai. All these things he foresaw and passed on to her for her protection and for the protection of Reiki.
When all of his business was taken care of and in order, he called his family together along with the Reiki Masters. Giving them his final words and recognizing Mrs. Takata as his successor in Reiki, He said good-bye. Sitting in the formal, Japanese manner and dressed in his formal Japanese clothing, he closed his eyes and left his body.
Following his guidance, Takata
finished her work in Japan and sailed to Hawai. She returned as
the Master of Reiki. She demonstrated her commitment throughout
her life, teaching and practicing Reiki. She became a powerful
healer and a great teacher, introducing the gift of Reiki to the
geneal people.
During
the classes in the following year, Phyllis learned that she was
to succeed Takata Sensei in the Reiki lineage. Shortly after this
acknowledgement of Phyllis as the Master of Reiki, Takata made
her transition in December, 1980.
In the years since Takata’s passing, Phyllis has grown into full acceptance of her role and into an understanding of the responsibility of the position. She exemplifies what does happen when one accepts the energy force of Reiki as a teacher and guide in life.
Today, the Usui System of Natural Healing is practiced all over the world. You are apart of his history. With your willingness to share this gift, you support and quicken the unfolding of life.
"Everyone is born with Reiki, for it the energy of life itself."
