Precepts of Reiki
Precepts of Reiki
In this article I would like to talk about the Reiki Preceptss, and where they come from, and I want to suggest a way of using Reiki to directly experience the effects of the first two Preceptss. I believe that this is a new approach to working with Usui Sensei’s principles.
Everyone who has learned Reiki will have seen the Preceptss, and they are available in a variety of different forms. There is actually some difference between the Preceptss that Mikao Usui was teaching and the Preceptss that are quoted commonly in the West.
In particular, the Precepts that you should “Honour your parents, teachers and elders” is not present in what Mikao Usui was teaching, and seems to have been added on later, once Reiki was being taught in the West.
There has been some speculation about where Mikao Usui’s Preceptss come from. It has been claimed that they originate in a book that was published in Usui’s time, and it has been claimed that they are based on the edicts of Mutsuhito, the Meiji Emperor. Certainly it seems that many Tendai and Zen Buddhist teachers were passing on similar principles in Usui Sensei’s time.
Perhaps we should start by reading the text of Usui Sensei’s version:
The secret of inviting happiness through many blessings
The spiritual medicine for all illness
For today only: Do not anger; Do not worry
Be humble
Be honest in your work
Be compassionate to yourself and others
Do gassho every morning and evening.
Keep in your mind and recite
The founder, Usui Mikao
Now we now know that Usui’s Preceptss were his wording of an earlier set of Preceptss that have been traced back to the early 9th Century, Preceptss which were used in a Tendai sect of Shugendo with which Usui Sensei was in contact. The Preceptss were the baseline, the foundation of Usui Sensei’s teachings, and it was thought that individual could achieve as much spiritual development by following the Preceptss as could be achieved by carrying out all the energy exercises.