Lately, there has been some discussion in the Reiki community questioning whether the founder of the system, Mikao Usui, actually taught the DKM mantra/symbol in the system of Reiki. DKM is encountered in the system’s final teachings of Shinpiden Reiki Level III. Most Reiki practitioners know of DKM through the teachings of Mrs Takata who, in the late 1930s, brought the system from Japan to the West. Mrs Takata taught the DKM mantra/symbol as the last of the system’s four mantras and symbols. Those questioning the DKM’s origins stem from the lineage of Mrs Yamaguchi.
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Frans Stiene, cofounder of the International House of Reiki was recently interviewed by Karuna Reiki teacher and astrologer Curtis Williams on his weekly radio program about the system of Reiki and its origins.
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As discussed in a previous article, The System of Reiki is a Spiritual Practice, the system helps you to rediscover your true nature. Your practice is facilitated (or hindered) by the state of your energy system. In fact, in most traditional spiritual practices, deep awareness of your energy system is synonymous with enlightenment and evolution from an ordinary human being into a yogi, buddha, or immortal one.
However, there is much confusion about this matter. There are many different energy systems competing for your attention — hara, tanden, chakras, etc.
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In many Asian teachings, including Buddhism, karma is an important concept. Since Usui Mikao, the founder of the system of Reiki, was a Japanese Buddhist practitioner, we wondered: Is the concept of karma contained within the teachings of the system of Reiki?
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Some of the founders of new religions had revelatory experiences while performing religious practices on sacred mountains, and some of the rituals created by new religions bear the imprint of Shugendo rituals; indeed, the highly syncretic character of Shugendo laid down a precedent for the syncretic pattern of most new religions.
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Within Okuden level II you will study something that many know as the “distance healing” symbol. This is a modern, rather than Japanese, interpretation of a practise which we shall call HSZSN. But how was HSZSN used in Mikao Usui’s time, and where did this symbol come from?
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It may not be commonly discussed but poetry was also a part of the system of Reiki’s original Japanese teachings.
This lack of acknowledgement is largely due to the reading of poetry being a culturally specific practice in Japan. Most Westerners have no, or little, understanding of this practice in its Japanese form.
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Usui Mikao, the founder of Reiki, was a Tendai practitioner all of his life. Tendai was brought to Japan by Saicho in the 8th century and names Nagarjuna as it’s patriarch. Apart from the belief that the lotus sutra is Buddha’s perfect teaching it also teaches meditation based on esoteric elements. It is interesting to look at the 10 major precepts of Tendai and see their correlation to Reiki and it’s 5 precepts.
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