Nina L. Paul - Reiki For Dummies

The concept of lineage in Reiki means who taught whom. All Reiki students, practitioners, or teachers of Usui Reiki are linked to one another because all are connected to Mikao Usui. Tracing your Reiki lineage means looking back from teacher to teacher, going all the way back to Mikao Usui.

If you want to know how your branch of Reiki or your teacher links back to Mikao Usui, ask your teacher to provide this information.

Lineage becomes important when you want to teach Reiki, join a Reiki organization, or get certified. There are now some organizations that offer help with tracing your Reiki lineage if you’re unsure (some are listed in Appendix A).

Each Reiki branch has a founder. Technically, Mikao Usui is the ultimate founder. When Reiki Masters change the teachings, they usually rename the teachings, call them a Reiki branch, and call themselves founders.

Information on branches of Reiki is always changing. This section lists the most well-known branches. Check out Appendix Afor further information.

Japan has several major branches of Reiki. You can find website information for these branches in Appendix A. The lineage for each branch starts with Mikao Usui and continues to the current founder or teacher of that branch:

Gendai Reiki Ho: Lineage: Mikao Usui, Kanichi Taketomi, Kimiko Koyama, Hiroshi Doi. Founder: Hiroshi Doi.

Jikiden Reiki: Lineage: Mikao Usui, Chujiro Hayashi, Chiyoko Yamaguchi, Tadao Yamaguchi. Founders: Chiyoko Yamaguchi and Tadao Yamaguchi.

Komyo Reiki Do: Lineage: Mikao Usui, Chujiro Hayashi, Chiyoko Yamaguchi, Hyakuten Inamoto. Founder: Hyakuten Inamoto.

Usui Reiki Ryoho: Frans Stiene and Bronwen Logan (Stiene) have studied under the previous three lineages and incorporate them into their Japanese-style classes at International House of Reiki.

Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai: Lineage: Mikao Usui, Juzaburo Ushida, Kanichi Taketomi, Yoshiharu Watanabe, Toyoichi Wanami, Kimiko Koyama, Masaki Kondo, Ichita Takahashi. Founder: Mikao Usui. This organization seeks to preserve Mikao Usui’s teachings but has restricted membership.

The main branches of Western Reiki all derive from Hawayo Takata:

The Radiance Technique (Authentic Reiki): Lineage: Mikao Usui, Chujiro Hayashi, Hawayo Takata, Barbara Weber Ray. Founder: Barbara Weber Ray, who claimed that she’s the sole successor to Hawayo Takata.

Usui Shiki Ryoho: Lineage: Mikao Usui, Chujiro Hayashi, Hawayo Takata, Phyllis Lei Furumoto. The Reiki Alliance is a group that formed after Hawayo Takata died. Both the Reiki Alliance and Phyllis Lei Furumoto (who is Hawayo Takata’s granddaughter) claim that Furumoto is the true successor to Hawayo Takata.Many independent Reiki Masters (including me) have studied under this system but are not necessarily part of the Reiki Alliance.

Usui Reiki/Tibetan Reiki: Lineage: Mikao Usui, Chujiro Hayashi, Hawayo Takata, Phyllis Lei Furumoto, Carrell Ann Farmer, Leah Smith, William Lee Rand. Founder: William Lee Rand (United States). This is my lineage for my Reiki Master training with one of William Rand’s students, Kathie Lipinski.

No one school or branch of Reiki is the best or truly speaks for all of Reiki. Consider taking these actions before choosing a Reiki branch:

Check out what types of Reiki classes are available in your area.

Speak to Reiki practitioners you know. Ask them what they liked and disliked about their classes or teachers.

Try out a Reiki session with a teacher you’re considering (either a private session or a Reiki circle).

Go to a Reiki circle or share in your community so you can see the styles of many teachers.

Speak to potential Reiki teachers and ask them the questions suggested in Chapter 7.

Despite questions and even some differences of opinion among branches on aspects of Reiki practice, the system of Reiki not only survives but thrives. The intrinsic power of Reiki goes beyond the different interpretations.

Variety of practice is almost built into the individualized way that Reiki was taught and passed on by Mikao Usui and Hawayo Takata.

Both Usui and Takata trained each student in a unique way:

Usui based his teachings on what he felt would be best for each student and the student’s particular spiritual level. For example, some students received symbols, and some did not.

Takata reportedly didn’t allow students to take notes. When they gathered after she died, the students were shocked to find that each had been given different variations of the teachings.

When Hawayo Takata died, she didn’t have a clear successor. Eventually Barbara Weber Ray (the Radiance Technique) and Phyllis Lei Furumoto (Hawayo Takata’s granddaughter) each claimed to be the successor. The Reiki Alliance called Furumoto the “lineage bearer” and “grandmaster.”

The lack of either a consistent and universal teaching or creation of one official school to carry on each of their Reiki systems led the successors of Mikao Usui, Chujiro Hayashi, and Hawayo Takata to each create their own versions or branches of Reiki practice. Because of these branches, interpretation of the Reiki system and practice varies.

Many varieties of Reiki have evolved from Western Reiki. Some incorporate New Age or other practices in addition to the simplicity of Usui’s original teachings. You can always inquire about the lineage to discover how a branch finds its way back to Mikao Usui.

Like a carpet of wildflowers, Reiki has spread worldwide with distinct branches and versions. Over time, some versions will thrive, and others will die out. The original seeds planted by Mikao Usui and then Chujiro Hayashi and Hawayo Takata have led to the expansion of Reiki, which continues to grow.

The way for Reiki to survive is to practice the Reiki Principles (see Chapter 4). The future of Reiki will take care of itself.

Chapter 4

IN THIS CHAPTER

Listing the Reiki Principles

Putting the Reiki Principles into practice

Checking out other versions of the Reiki Principles

The five Reiki Principles form the cornerstone of what’s essentially a Reiki spiritual practice. All branches of Reiki derived from Mikao Usui’s teachings (see Chapter 3) use some version of the Reiki Principles. They may be called Reiki Principles, Reiki Precepts, Reiki Ideals, or Reiki Gokai (in Japanese). These statements are used as guidelines to right living and spiritual development. When you use the Reiki Principles, you’re following directly in the footsteps of Mikao Usui. In this chapter, I describe the Reiki Principles: what they are and how to use them.