Reiki can be traced back to ancient Tibet, thousands of years ago. The technique was re-discovered in the 1800s, by Dr. Mikao Usui of Japan. Reiki used to be an oral tradition passed on by masters by word of mouth much like the traditions of the Native Indians.

In the city of Kyoto, Japan, Dr. Usui, a Christian minister, after giving a sermon was asked my two students to explain how Jesus did the miracles of healing, and furthermore, whether or not he could perform those same miracles. Dr. Usui was not able to answer. He felt he knew the bible but not how Jesus healed.

This marked the beginning of Dr. Usui’s lifelong quest to uncover the source of ancient healing techniques. He left Japan and studied a doctorate degree in theology. He searched the scriptures to try and uncover the secret of how Jesus and his disciples healed the sick and performed miracles, but he didn’t find his answers. Upon his return to Japan, it occurred to Dr. Usui that, Buddha had performed the same type of miracles that Jesus had, and that Buddha had also healed the sick and had great control over energy.

Finally, Dr. Usui went to a Zen monastery, he asked the head monk if he knew how to heal the body, His reply was that they were so busy teaching how to heal the spirit that there wasn’t time to teach how to heal the body, the same answer he had received from a Buddhist monk. Dr. Usui joined the Zen monastery in search of his answers. He studied the Buddhist scriptures, the sutras, in search of the key to healing. He also studied a Japanese translation of the Buddhist scriptures and then learned Chinese so that a wider range of Buddhist writings were available to him but still with no success. Dr. Usui was guided (through meditation) to learn Sanskrit so that he could read the original Buddhist writings. After mastering the language he began reading the teachings of the Tibetan Buddhistic-Sect. It was from those writings that Dr. Usui discovered what he felt to be the keys to healing. He found the symbols, formulas and description of how Buddha healed. So after much study, he felt he had finally found the keys, yet, he still didn’t have the power to heal.

Through meditation, it was felt that Dr. Usui was to go to a place upon the holy mount Kuriyama. He was to fast for 21 days meditate, pray and seek the power to heal. Dr. Usui climbed Kuriyama, and since having no calendar collected 21 stones, one representing each day, he faced east and meditated and fasted each day. On the 21st morn, he awoke to a darkened day. It was like a new moon day, when no light shone in the heavens before the break of dawn. As he threw away his last stone he prayed that God would confirm his findings and asked he be given enlightenment on how to use it.

A light appeared far off in the east. It became brighter and came closer to him. It frightened him and he wanted to run away but as he had studied so hard for so long, and fasted 21 days he resisted the urge to flee. He wasn’t going to throw it all away because of fear, so he received his enlightenment. The light became very bright. It streamed across the heavens and hit him in his 3rd eye. For a moment he thought he had died and gone to heaven because of the euphoric-state that he felt. Then came the powerful bright white light, followed by Sanskrit letters, the secret formula of the universal life force and how to use the symbols. He was given full instructions and full teaching in the meaning of the symbols. All of it he had to commit to memory. He knew that this was the universal life energy, which he called REIKI and thus was born the Usui system of natural healing.

In his rush to get back to the monks to share his exciting news, he stubbed his toe on a rock. He reached down to comfort the pain and stop the bleeding which he found stopped quite rapidly. He realized that something was different, the energy in his hands was different, it had become very hot. After healing his toe, he continued his pilgrimage down the mountain.

Soon he began to feel hungry, so he stopped at a home that served travelers and ordered rice and tea. Within a few moments, a Japanese girl with a bandage wrapped around her jaw, brought Dr. Usui his meal. She told him that she had had a toothache for days. Encouraged by his own phenomenal pain relief, he asked her if he may give her a healing. She gladly accepted, he put his hands around her jaw and within a short period of time the pain and swelling started to decrease. She was very happy and went to tell her grandfather. After his meal, Dr. Usui reached into his pocket for some coins to pay the grandfather, the grandfather would not except payment but said to him, “You have rendered unto my grand daughter a service which I do not have money to pay for, please except the food in exchange for the healing services that you have rendered.” Dr. Usui accepted. The food was used as exchange for his services as a healing vessel.

Upon returning to Kyoto, he went to tell his friend the monk what had happened. He asked for advice on what he should do now that he had received the keys and the healing energy. He wanted to learn more about its use and how to develop it. Dr. Usui was directed by the monk to meditate on it.From meditating, Dr. Usui was guided to go into the vast slums of Kyoto where he would offer healing to the beggars. He would then send the youngest ones to the monastery where they would be trained by the monks in skills to help them earn their living. In those days, the slums were an unsafe place for strangers to enter for the beggars banded together under a leader and did not welcome others among them. Dr. Usui sought out the leader of the beggars and asked permission to live there and heal the people. Dr. Usui’s only request was a place to sleep and do his work and 3 bowls of rice a day. His request was granted and he moved into his area and started his healing work among these poor people.

For the next 7 years, Dr, Usui worked on healing the sick in the beggar kingdom. He worked from day till night healing young and old and saw many beautiful results take place. He began to understand how Reiki flowed through him into the recipient and how the body became well. One afternoon, Dr. Usui took a walk to the edge of the beggar kingdom. He saw a young beggar who looked familiar. He asked the beggar if he knew him. The beggar replied, “of course, do you not remember me? I was one of the first beggars that you healed!” In disbelief Dr. Usui replied, “I healed you and you are still a beggar?” The beggar replied “yes, I did what you told me, I went to the temple to receive a new name, I went into society and began dealing with my karma, I even got a job and soon married, but it was all too much responsibility so I decided that I would rather be a beggar, that way I wouldn’t even have to be responsible for myself.”