Reiju – Giving and Receiving, Together As One

Frans StieneArticles, English 3 Comments

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Reiju (Japanese kanji 霊授) is one of the essential elements within the system of Reiki. Literally it means spiritual blessing or offering.

Often this is seen as a one way experience from teacher to student, with the student being the one who is benefitting from this Reiju. However, I never have taught it this way because for me it is a union, a union of the teacher, student, and the universe in which all will benefit.

The kanji of ju (授) points this out as well. Ju is mostly translated as ‘to give’. 

But Zen Master Jakusho Kwong, in his book No Beginning, No End – The Intimate Heart of Zen, states that: “This word ju [授], is very good. ‘To cut’” ‘to open,’ ‘to empty,’ and ‘to receive’ are all expressed by ju.”

For me these words describe exactly what I experience when I perform a Reiju. The empty state of mind, that I also receive at the same time, and that the whole process is about openness because the ego temporarily is cut away. I wanted to investigate this a bit more.

I consulted a Japanese friend who is an international calligraphist and who looks deeply into kanji and its meanings. She came back with a wonderful explanation that put the phrase “receiving Reiju” in a whole new light. 

“The kanji  means “Receive” which is used when you receive something very special and very valuable (but you can’t buy) from god or respectable people (even nature). Just regular kanji for “receive” is . “

Her explanation made so much sense because during Reiju both teacher and student receive ‘grace of the universe,’ ‘grace of our True Self’, ‘grace of nature’, which is very special and very valuable indeed. This grace of course is unification, which Oxford Dictionary defines as the “process of being united or made into a whole.” So the word ‘receive’ is not to be taken literally. It is an expedient means to a simple explanation of Reiju. 

The deepest state of Reiju is that there is nothing to receive, nothing to give, and no gift. This is symbolised by the kanji of Rei 霊 spiritual.

To sum this all up: when the teacher performs a spiritual (Rei 霊) blessing (Ju 授,) he/she is giving and receiving at the same time. Therefore this also means that for a teacher, performing Reiju is a spiritual meditative practice for remembering his/her own True Self. 

Now we can start to see why Shinpiden Reiki Level III is not just about becoming a teacher. It is about learning to empower yourself through performing Reiju. Shinpiden (meaning “mystery teachings”) is all about rediscovering the mystery of our non-dual state of mind where receiving and giving happens simultaneously, where “teacher” and “student” are receiving and giving, together as one.

Link to other blogs about reiju:

http://www.ihreiki.com/blog/article/the_secret_of_reiju/

http://www.ihreiki.com/blog/article/the_confusion_around_reiju

 

Comments 3

  1. Avatar of liesl

    I at times feel that I receive more than I give out during my teaching. Where it comes from is the question. What does receiving feel like or what does giving feel like if it isn’t something physical? Where do we do this feeling? There are always more questions than answers turning up.

  2. Avatar of Frans Stiene
  3. Avatar of seema sahoo

    Hi Frans,
    In the class to me” receiving and giving” felt the same… It was in state of mind .
    I also , for the first time experienced what it feels sitting there in that space.

    Right now ,unable to put in words and when I try too , feel its lost …

    Thank you and yes now I know how to perform a “Reiju” like I used to say since 2 years 🙂 , but still I don’t know :-).

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