All instruction is but a finger pointing to the moon; and those whose gaze is fixed upon the pointer will never see beyond. Even let him catch sight of the moon, and still he cannot see its beauty. Buddha
This famous saying about the finger pointing to the moon is highly relevant to the system of Reiki. The finger within the system of Reiki represents the five elements: symbols/mantras, hands on healing, meditations, attunements/reiju and the precepts.
The three Ps within the system of Reiki are Practise, Patience and Perseverance. All of these are important when practicing the system of Reiki. They should not be seen as separate entities. There is a reliant interconnectedness between them. Successful practise without patience and perseverance is not possible, and neither is perseverance without patience and the practise itself. To get the most profound experiences from your Reiki practise you will need to utilise all three Ps.
Many things are attributed to attunements in modern times, but how are they viewed from a traditional Japanese perspective? It appears that many contemporary notions relating to what attunements actually do, do not correspond to the Japanese way.
IF this is true, then it follows that ... without the attunement you cannot channel Reiki.
What do you think?
When I think about Reiki and Buddhism I find that, for me now, they are irretrievably linked. In my practice they are so close that these days they have become the same thing. This wasn’t something that I started off with and I found it very surprising when it happened. Discovering it felt a bit like walking into my garden and suddenly noticing for the first time a huge elephant that had always been there. It wasn’t something that could easily be ignored. So, there it was and I’m not going to fight something that seems so solid and substantial. After all, how many times have you successfully coaxed a gigantic quadruped into pretending it doesn’t exist?
A question on our website this week is:
Q: How are Reiki meditations and the reiju (attunement) interconnected?
It is phenomenal the list of Reiki Branches with curious new Age names that have sprung up on the Internet advertising distant attunements. So, is it worth putting your money into these courses? Will you get anything out of them?
Q: Why do teachers tell their students to keep their eyes closed during the attunement/reiju?
A: It seems that some teachers are afraid that their students might see the actual attunement/reiju ritual that they are performing. In fact, some teachers go so far as to remove other students from the room where they are performing the attunement/reiju.
An action undertaken from this standpoint can foster a sense of secrecy resulting in unhealthy power issues concerning the teacher/student roles.
