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Dr Mikao Usui page 1

 

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    Usui Sensei 1865 - 1926 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dr Mikao Usui.

 

Dr Usui was a Japanese, Christian minister and was the Head of a Christian Boys School in Japan. One day some of the students asked him if he believed in the miracles which Jesus performed (ie. healing). Being a Christian Educator, he answered ‘yes’. His students then asked if he knew how Jesus had done this, to which he replied ‘no’. With this questioning he resolved to find the way in which Jesus had healed. This immediately set him on a journey of many years. Studying first at Christian schools in the US, for where else to learn of Jesus? but with no result. In the Christian schools the method was unknown. It was suggested he study Buddhist writings since the Buddha also healed. This took more years studying at a monastery in the Orient. Nowhere could he find the answers. In Japan, he toured many temples asking for knowledge of how the Buddha had healed. At each one the Priests said they were more concerned with spiritual than physical well-being. In one small monastery he found some ancient Sanskrit writings from India (or perhaps Tibet). After a few more years of study he felt he had come to an understanding and that to go further required in depth meditation. He declared to the Monks of this monastery his intention to fast and meditate for 21 days at a nearby mountain and that if he did not come back, they should come and get his body.

 

He went to the mountain and gathered 21 stones with which to count the days. Each day he would throw away a stone in order to count the time. On the 20th day nothing had come to him and he threw away the last stone saying ‘Well, this is it, either I get the answer tonight or I do not’. During the night he could see a ball of light coming towards him from the horizon. His first instinct was to get out of the way but he then realised that this might just be what he was waiting for, so he allowed it to hit him right in the forehead. As it struck him, he was taken on a journey and shown bubbles of all the colours of the rainbow in which were the symbols of Reiki. These were the same symbols in the Tibetan writings he was studying but had not been able to understand. Now, as he looked at them again, there was total understanding. After returning from this experience he began back down the mountain and was, from this moment on, able to heal. This first day alone he healed a broken toenail, his own starvation, an ailing tooth and the Abbot’s sickness which was keeping him bedridden. These are known as the first four miracles.

 

He wanted to use these abilities to help others, so he spent the next seven years in the beggars section of Tokyo, healing the poor and sick people there, sending them to a Priest to assist in finding employment and elevating them out of poverty. After seven years he noticed familiar faces, those of people he had healed long ago and who were returning. Asking them why, they complained that life outside the beggar town was too hard and that it was much simpler to beg for a living. They had thrown away the gift of health as it had no value, to return to the supposed comfort of the life they knew. This threw Usui into a quandary and he returned to the monastery. From this he realised he had not taught gratitude along with the healing; that he had focused on the physical ailments without dealing with spiritual matters. The people did not understand the value of the gift he gave them. Dr Usui returned to the monastery for further reflection and planning. After some time in the monastery he developed the ‘precepts’. With this new plan he travelled around the countryside from village to village. In each one he stood in a public place during the day holding aloft a lit torch. When people told him that he did not need a torch in daylight, he answered that was he was looking for the few who are interested in improving themselves. In this way he travelled around teaching and healing, working with both spiritual healing and physical healing.

 

During these travels he met Dr Chujiro Hayashi, a Naval Commander in the Naval Reserve. He came from a well-educated and well-to-do family. He met Dr Usui in the marketplace holding his lit torch announcing a lecture at a nearby temple. Dr Hayashi was overly impressed with the sincerity and conviction of Dr Usui. When asked by Dr Usui to accompany him in his travels, Dr Hayashi agreed and they travelled around teaching and healing. After Dr Usui passed on, Dr Hayashi became the leader of Reiki.

 

Dr Mikao Usui passed away on 9th March, 1926 at the age of 62. He is buried in Saihoji Temple in Suginami-Ku, Tokyo. Later his students created and erected a large memorial stone next to his grave describing his life and his work. Much of the new information about Usui Sensei comes from the translation of this memorial.

 

  

Please view page 2 select Dr Mikao Usui Story 2 from the drop-down list under ‘Reiki Healing’ link above or click here

 

 

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