Attunements

An attunement is the method of initiating students into the system of Reiki only a Reiki Master/Teacher can give Reiki attunements. There are many different attunement methods as teachers have added to or taken away from the traditional process. Attunements were initially called reiju in Japan but when Hawayo Takata introduced Reiki to the West they became known initiations, empowerments, attunements or transformations. An attunement is a powerful clearing of the body's meridians (energy system) it is impossible to be able to undo this once it has begun. Each attunement you receive takes you a step further to re-aligning yourself with the natural function of your body - mentally, physically, emotionally or spiritually. For these reasons it is also impossible to 'make' an attunement last for a limited period of time. An attunement (or reiju) is also one of the five major elements of the system of Reiki.

Byosen Reikan Ho

(lit. Japanese) sense imbalances in the body.

Chiba

Usui Mikao's ancestors. The Chiba clan was one of the most famous and influential samurai families in all of Japan according to the Chiba family records. The Usui Mikao's memorial stone states that the famous samurai, Tsunetane Chiba (1118 to 1201) was Usui's ancestor.

Cleansing process

The client's body draws in energy and allows it to wash through clearing the body out on a physical, mental, emotional or spiritual level.

Distant Attunements

Attunements in the West were initially performed in person. Distant attunements are an extension of the concept of distant healing.

Distant Healing

Distant healing is used to send Reiki for the purpose of healing to someone who is not physically present.

Doi, Hiroshi

Teacher of Gendai Reiki Ho and one of the initiators of the URRI projects. Hiroshi Doi is also a member of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. He officially joined the society on the 22nd of October 1993.

Five Head Positions

• zento bu – forehead
• sokuto bu – both temples
• koto bu – back of your head and forehead
• enzui bu – either side of neck
• tocho bu - crown on top of head.

Five Precepts (Gokai - lit. Japanese)

For today only:

• Do not anger
• Do not worry
• Be humble
• Be honest in your work
• Be compassionate to yourself and others.

Gassho

(lit. Japanese) to place the two palms together. This is a Japanese gesture of respect, gratitude, veneration and humility.

Hand Positions

Hand positions refer to the specific hand positions used when performing a Reiki treatment. Practitioners place their hands on specific body regions with the intention to assist the energy to move through the body. A one-hour Reiki treatment is made up of a practitioner placing hands on (or just off) the body of the client.

Hara

(lit. Japanese) belly or abdomen. The hara is like a battery that can be recharged through physical and spiritual techniques. Energy is stored at this point of the body. From here it expands through the whole body.

Hatsurei Ho

(lit. Japanese) to generate greater amounts of spiritual energy.

Hayashi Chujiro

(1880 -1940) One of the 21 teacher students of Usui Mikao. Some researchers today question whether Hayashi Chujiro actually was one of the 21 teacher students trained by Usui Mikao. Hayashi Chujiro is thought to have been a member of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai at first but broke away in 1931 beginning his own branch called Hayashi Reiki Ryoho Kenkyu kai.

Independent Reiki Master

Independent Reiki Master is a term used to describe people who are Reiki Masters that are not aligned with a particular branch of Reiki.

International House of Reiki

Reiki centre founded by Frans and Bronwen Stiene that teaches Usui Reiki Ryoho.

Jumon

(lit. Japanese) spell, incantation. This is the Japanese word used for mantra, a sound that invokes a specific energetic vibration.

Kanji

Kanji are Japanese written characters that are both pictographs and ideographs.

Kenyoku Ho

(lit. Japanese) dry bathing or brushing off method. This is similar to purification methods practiced in Shintoism.

Ki

(lit. Japanese) Universal energy.

Koyama, Kimiko

(1906 - 1999) Sixth President of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai.

Mantra

It is a power-laden syllable or series of syllables that manifest certain cosmic forces. Traditionally there are only 4 mantras in Usui Mikao's teachings.

Memorial Stone

This is the carved memorial stone of Usui Mikao's life at his grave site at the Pure Land Buddhist Saihoji Temple in Tokyo. It was placed there by a number of his students, just one year after his death in 1927.

Okuden

(lit. Japanese) – innermost teachings (hidden). This terms actually signifies that you have only begun to work at that level - it does do not signify that you have completed that level.

Oneness

A concept where you become One with the universe.

Reiju

(lit. Japanese) offering of spiritual energy. This is the Japanese name for attunement/initiations /transformations etc. Reiju, as practiced by Usui Mikao and the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai is the same for each level – there are no differences as it is the student's ability to draw on more energy that creates the differences not the reiju itself. No symbols or mantras are used in the reiju. The reiju does not 'attune' the student to the symbols as is believed in the West.

Reiki

(lit. Japanese) spiritual or sacred energy.

Reiki Levels

Levels to be attained in the system of Reiki. When Usui Mikao first started teaching he had no need for recognized levels.

Reiki Master

Someone who completed Level 3 or shinpiden and is allowed to teach other people the system of Reiki.

Reiki Master/Practitioner

A title used in the West for someone who has completed only half of the Level 3. This is a new innovation. It means that the student has not learnt the attunement only the mantra and symbol.

Reiki Master/Teacher

A title used in the West for two different purposes. One is to signify that the student has completed both levels of a form of Reiki where the third level is split in two.

Reiki Teacher

A Reiki Master that does not wish to use the word Reiki Master due to its implications.

Seiza

Seiza - (lit. Japanese) correct sitting. This is a traditional Japanese style of sitting on top of the ankles, with the legs folded underneath and the back erect.

Shinpiden

(lit. Japanese) mystery teachings. Japanese name for Level 3 or Master or Teacher level.

Shinto

(lit. Japanese) the way of the Kami (gods). Shinto is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people, and it is as old as the culture itself.

Shirushi

(lit. Japanese) symbol.

Shoden

(lit. Japanese) first teachings. This is the Japanese name for Level 1.

Symbols

Traditionally there are only 4 symbols in Usui Mikao's teachings. It is believed that only later in Usui Mikao's life, around 1923 (once he began working with lay people who were not involved in spiritual practices), were symbols introduced. These symbols were extra tools that made it easier for students to practice Usui Mikao's spiritual teachings.

Taketomi, Kanichi

(1878 - 1960) Third President of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. He was also a Rear Admiral. He became a member in 1925.

Teate

(lit. Japanese) hands on healing.

Tendai

Buddhist sect in Japan. Usui Mikao is said to have been a Tendai lay priest and to have studied on hiei zan the main Tendai temple complex in Japan.

Three-Week Cleansing Process

The cleansing process is also known as a healing crisis. It is a response to an attunement, reiju or Reiki treatment. The body is attempting to remove toxins and re-balance the body and this can often be felt physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually. After an attunement it is often said that the student will undergo a 21-day cleansing process in which the student must practice Reiki to aid the process.

Toshitane Chiba

A famous samurai warlord from the 1500s. In 1551 he conquered the city Usui and thereafter all family members acquired that name.

Tsunetane Chiba

(1118 to 1201) was Usui Mikao's ancestor. Recently Doi Hiroshi notes that this was incorrect and that it was in fact Toshitane Chiba.

Usui Mikao

(1865-1926) Usui Mikao is the founder of the system of Reiki. Usui Mikao was born on the 15th of August 1865, in the village of Taniai mura in the Yamagata district of the Gifu Prefecture, in Japan. His father's name was Uzaemon and they were from the Chiba clan. Usui Mikao is understood to have been born a Tendai Buddhist and as a child studied in a Tendai monastery. He remained Tendai all his life and is believed to have eventually have become a Tendai lay priest.
Usui Mikao married Suzuki Sadako and they had two children a boy and a girl, called Fuji and Toshiko respectively.
He is thought to have studied on hiei zan and practiced certain meditations on kurama yama.
What Usui Mikao taught was called 'Usui do' - 'the way of Usui'. His teachings included using waka, the 5 precepts, meditations and techniques, mantras and or symbols and reiju. What he practiced on people would have been called 'Usui teate' - meaning 'hands-on' and included hands on healing.
The names of 11 of the 21 teacher students of Usui Mikao have been recorded in a booklet used by the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai.

Usui Reiki Ryoho

(lit. Japanese) Usui Spiritual Energy Healing Method. Hawayo Takata referred to the system of Reiki she learned from Hayashi Chujiro as Usui Reiki Ryoho in a recording of 1979 telling the story of the system of Reiki. It is the name today used by practitioners whose focus is on traditional techniques as practiced in Japan.

Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai

(lit. Japanese) Society of the Usui Spiritual Energy Healing Method. The Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai claims to have been created by Usui Mikao in 1922. The society still exists today, and has its seventh president.

Waka

Short poems. The word waka is made up of two parts: wa meaning 'Japanese' and ka meaning 'poem' or 'song'. Waka is a short form of poetry that contains 31 syllables. In English it is typically divided into 5 lines of 5,7,5,7 and 7 syllables. All the waka Mikao Usui used in his teachings are written down in the Reiki Ryoho Hikkei, a manual used by the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai.

Zaike

(lit. Japanese) lay priest. This priest has his own home and is not expected to reside in a monastery. Mikao Usui is said to have been a Tendai zaike.