Where does reiki come from? Has it been officially confirmed?

[Troll_ov_Grimness]

This is an enigma for me and probably many other people and I would like some answers supported by evidence

One possible theory that I have : During the period when Dr.Usui had been performing reiki, the Japanese occupation of Korea was happening at the same time, and the Japanese had created Shinto shrines there and were actively pressuring the koreans to worship at those sites. In some way or other, Dr.Usui encountered korean shamanism, and imported some kind of healing arts from them.

Of what I know of Shinto, and Buddhism, there is -nothing- in there relating to transfer of ki energy from one person to another. Although, Shintoists worship kami at shrines, they do not supplicate to them. Anybody with lots of knowledge on Shinto could you inform me of how precisely the Japanese encounter kami? of what I know Japanese may pray to kami but being a medium to them is rare. Carmen Blacker in her book Catalpa Bow, published in the 70s, searched all over Japan for spirit-mediums and found very few.. only the blind mediums miko.. to none at all. and the blind mediums were 'fake', often just the fact they were blind was enough, and no authentic shamanic spirit-loss or transcendence took place.

Percival Lowell writes in his survey of Japan during the mid 1890s that the Japanese would undergo possession on pilgrimage. Specifically, he chronicled these happenings at Mount Ontake . Percival Lowell writes of buddhism in this way, "Shinto is thus an adoration of family wraiths, or of imputed family wraiths ; imaginaries of the first and the second order in the analysis of the universe. Buddhism with its ultimate Nirvana is in a sense the antithesis of this. For while simple Shinto regards the dead as spiritually living, philosophic Buddhism regards the living as spiritually dead ; two aspects of the same shield."

A good kdrama you can find on dramafever-dot-com called 'Moon That Embraces The Sun' is full of anecdotal stuff relating to korean shamans and how they served the nobility.. through being talismans to absorb negative energies or perhaps even vice versa

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Has it been confirmed? No, it hasn't. The exact opposite, in fact:

In conclusion, the evidence is insufficient to suggest that reiki is an effective treatment for any condition. Therefore the value of reiki remains unproven.

Effects of reiki in clinical practice: a systematic review of randomised clinical trials - Lee - 2008 - International Journal of Clinical Practice - Wiley Online Library

 

[Troll_ov_Grimness]

Has it been confirmed? No, it hasn't. The exact opposite, in fact:

you have completely misunderstood my question

 

[Iti oj]

i think idioeurpopean with mby some Asian influence

 

[Troll_ov_Grimness]

i think idioeurpopean with mby some Asian influence

uhhh

this is obvious

Dr.Usui, the founder of 'reiki', was a Japanese man, and resident and native of Japan. it is purported that he was a buddhist

but my point is that,
reiki is nothing like buddhism
and nothing like spiritism

and buddhism and shinto were two clashing ideologies in japan that are easy for people to separate in terms of philosophy but for the japanese they had synthesized a lot and it becomes confusing this way

my question is WHERE DOES REIKI -COME FROM- as in,
is it buddhist? is it shinto? is it from China? Taoism? is it perhaps some synthesis of ideas from Korea (possible!)?

 

[Sylvan]

I have heard time and time again from people who have lived in Japan 5+ years that this whole idea of clashing ideologies between Shinto and Buddhism is a misunderstanding of context. Many Japanese are both at different times, either for ceremonial occasions or for periods of ones life. As I said in that other thread I think you will find your answer in whatever fringe New Religious Movement (probably some strain of Buddhism) the founder was involved in. In fact it says clearly he both used Taoist and Shinto magical incantations in his early practice, as well as practicing Buddhism and Shugendō, a Japanese form of shamanism.

 

[DreadFish]

Reiki isnt a religion, it is a form of energetic healing. Usui Mikao was purported to be a Tendai Buddhist and a practitioner of Shugendo when he learned the techniques.

Shugendo combines many different techniques from Tantric Buddhism, old Shinto, Taoism and traditional "shamanism." It is a tradition all its own, using the truths it sees in the various traditions.

So, point is, Reiki is not affiliated with a particular religion.

 

[DreadFish]

Also, I would be a bit suspicious of the validity of any research about eastern religions or spirituality done in the 1800s, there was a lot of misinformation conveyed back then.

To know more about the context, reading about Shugendo here would be good: http://www.shugendo.fr/en

(The site is written by a French man who has spent the last 30 years as a Shugenja and is now a Shugendo priest. It is translated to English too )
​

 

[Infinitum]

I'm not that familiar with reiki, but I have researched traditional Chinese medicine a little bit. The idea is based on the concept of Qi, a kind of energy flow or life force in your body. You're supposedly able to control it by eating different kinds of foods, doing certain excersises or - something we're more familiar with - sticking needles in people. When assuming this is how the world works it only makes sense to think that a person who has learned to control their Qi by will would be able to affect someone else's Qi. Not sure it needs a more complicated explanation than that.

 

[Troll_ov_Grimness]

Whatever.
I will just abandon reiki all together
I have found a book written by Motohisa Yamakage
called, The Essence Of Shinto: Japan's Spiritual Heart
he describes how shintoists worship kami, and the transformative process to become like them

Reiki has an absence of spiritism which is fundamentally important.
since Shinto claims no founder, the folk-religion is inherited and learned divinely. this is how korean shamanism and shinto are similar
Other people will be put off by this, and desire all these precepts and rules.. this is how reiki is more like buddhism


From Publishers Weekly
Western visitors to Japan sometimes come away with the idea that Shinto, Japan's indigenous religion, is a "dead" tradition, with shrines preserved as mere historic sites or tourist traps. Not so, claims Yamakage, who represents "the 79th generation of an ancient Shinto tradition" and makes a case for living Shinto as a faith-based religion that is predicated on "the belief in the presence of the kami," or spirits. Yamakage calls for a return to koshinto, the ancient Shinto practice that he says had no shrines at all, and for a rejection of the "secular, materialistic, atheistic society" that he believes modern Japan has become. He offers a strong introduction to Shinto, stressing that it is nondogmatic, nondoctrinal and almost wholly decentralized. Still, Shintoists are united by a reverence for nature and an emphasis on self-purification, particularly through water rituals and cleansing. The book is nicely designed, with an excellent layout and black-and-white photos throughout. At times, Yamakage's voice can be overly strident, as when challenging the faith and motivations of some contemporary Shinto priests. Overall, however, this is a fine primer that makes a compelling case for Shinto as a religion invested with deep meaning.

From Booklist
Yamakage, the seventy-ninth grand master (he retired in 2005) of the school of Shinto that bears his family name, believes that Shinto well addresses disillusion with materialism and renewed interest in spirituality. Largely dispensing with Shinto's history, he discusses its character and practices. Reverence toward nature is the bedrock of Shinto, which otherwise has neither doctrine, commandments, gods, idols, nor organization. It does use shrines, great and small, to center devotion, and the aim of the individual adherent is to purify thought, behavior, and person to live aright, by which Shinto means what is called living the Dao, following the way, and so forth in other religions. The Yamakage theory of one spirit, four souls; the Shinto view of the afterlife; and some physical exercises--highly reminiscent of yoga, since they are concerned with breathing, and of zen, since they involve clearing the mind--are the topics of the last three chapters of this exceptionally handsome, to-the-point primer on the faith that now-more-prevalent Buddhism and Christianity both found when they came to Japan.

Review
"...will function as an introduction to ideal Shinto practice..." -- Choice

"Outstanding introduction, thoughtful readers can hardly do better than this intelligent insiders guide. Highly recommended."--Library Journal

"Renowned Shinto master Motohisa Yamakage takes us to the core of Japans most ancient religion."--Clear

Book Description
In The Essence of Shinto, revered Shinto master Motohisa Yamakage explains the core values of Shinto and explores both basic tenets and its more esoteric points in terms readily accessible to the modern Western reader. He shows how the long history of Shintoism is deeply woven into the fabric of Japanese spirituality and mythology--indeed, it is regarded as Japan's very spiritual roots--and discusses its role in modern Japan and the world. He also carefully analyzes the relationship of thespirit and the soul, which will provide informed and invaluable insight into how spirituality affects our daily existence. Through the author's emphasis on the universality of Shinto and its prevalence in the natural world, the book will appeal to all readers with an appreciation of humanity's place in nature and the individual's role in the larger society.

About the Author
Motohisa Yamakage was born in 1925 and brought up in an old Shintoist family. In 1956, he became the 79th Grand Master of Yamakage Shinto. Grand Master Yamakage has played a leading role in introducing Shinto to people around the world and many of his essays, translated into German, French, and English, have been published in leading European magazines. In 2005, Motohisa Yamakage retired and was succeeded by hisson, Hitoyoshi Yamakage.

 

[Revoltingest]

I once had a tenant who practiced reiki....& charged "patients" for her services.
The rent must flow, so I kept my opinions to myself.
She was loopier than the chiropractor upstairs.

 

[Troll_ov_Grimness]

In reading about British Spiritualism it would seem that it was probably actually a development from Therapeutic Touch and spirit channeling. So in this way it is a lot like Shinto then. but you see how it is more like therapeutic touch by itself than Shinto or Spiritualism?

reference,
The Darkened Room: Women, Power, And Spiritualism In Late Victorian England by Alex Owen

 

[otokage007]

Shintoism kami are supreme creatures or Gods that may or may not be interested in prayers. As far as I know, they represent the various elements of nature and may have the form of animals or ghosts. Amaterasu is, for example, the goddess of the sun. Kami messengers are not humans, but usually animals like cats, foxes, among others.

To "speak" with a God, u must go to his particular santuary and pass the "Torii", a red construction that reminds of the "pi" letter and represents a door to the spiritual world. You can recieve the blessing of the God by presenting him money or an important object u consider an offering, hang an origami (paper figure) to a tree near the temple, buying talismans, even offering yourself to clean the temple is a good way to recieve the blessings. Some japanese homes have a little altar called "kami-dana", which serves to pray to a particular god.

Shintoism reminds me a little to the greek pantheon but with a more rustic touch

As for reiki, it is just a cash-maker used to trick old people with lots of aches. However, it can work as a placebo in some cases. As for where this tradition comes from, I do not know, but I heard Jesus "imposition of hands" method to heal people, is pretty much the same.

 

[Troll_ov_Grimness]

I am 'attuned' and Motohisa Yamakage one of the most celebrated experts on Shinto religion speaks of attunement through Kami which are most certainly often human. he speaks of the transformation through purging the profane soul to the kami and although he could be clearer is very clear on the fact that Shinto is soul transformation and soul growth through supplicating and placating the wishes of Kami