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The Reiki- Symbols 2008 |
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The Reiki Symbols are a wonderful source of inspiration, creativity and confusion. Inspiration Let’s begin with the first, inspiration. Reiki was born in an eternal moment of intense inspiration and self- discovery. This intensity is present in any Reiki moment, during a treatment or an attunement. In a treatment, this is partly due to the symbols that intensify the energy, heal the soul and transcendent time and space. In an attunement it is due to the fact that the symbols help to awaken the sleeping Reiki in the student. Creativity Usui Sensei incorporated three symbols in his practical work, for his students to be able to work more effectively. Those three symbols were given specific jobs to do. The Power Symbol was used exclusively on the body. The Mental Healing Symbol was used exclusively for mental healing. The Distant Healing Symbol was used exclusively for distant healing. The so- called Master Symbol is not part of the original Teaching. Both the Usui Association and the Hayashi/ Yamaguchi Institute don’t use it. It is both a wonderful ancient Buddhist term as well as a powerful symbol, but has no relation to Reiki. (Yet I do use it with great pleasure…) Three Concepts When talking about the Reiki- Symbols, we must keep one thing in mind. The symbols have a geometric shape as well as a name- and, a clear meaning. This means, that a symbol can be many things. It can be a Reiki Symbol- meaning a tool that is exclusively used in Reiki. It can also be a Kanji (Chinese/ Japanese pictograph) or a symbol from another culture. And it can possibly be a Mantra. To all those three concepts apply different sets of rules.
A Reiki Symbol is a symbol incorporated into the Healing Art by Usui Sensei. For me, a symbol channeled by one of his students, though not necessarily useless, does not belong to the original system. Therefore I would not call it a Reiki- Symbol. A Reiki- Symbol is Reiki specific. Usui And Hayashi Sensei stressed, that the Symbols should not be shared with anyone who has not been attuned to Reiki. The one who uses it must have certain background knowledge, and healing skills, as well as instruction in how and when to use the symbol. You would not give a power tool to a five year old... In the Japanese tradition the first two Reiki- Symbols are considered just symbols. They have a name but this name is just a description. This description does not need to be pronounced when the symbol is written. Chiyoko Sensei used to say ” no need to say “ spoon, spoon, spoon” when picking up a spoon. You just use it…” When she and other Japanese practitioners refer to one of those symbols, they use the Japanese word for “ symbol” ( Jap. Shirushi). It is often thought that one is initiated into a certain symbol. The fact is that you are initiated into Reiki. The Symbols are just tools that help you concentrate on a certain quality. The cross, the symbol for male or female, or a stop sign on the highway are more or less the same. They tell us what we, and others ought to do in a given situation. Or they tell us what we are: the Kanji for the Japanese word “ Reiki” means: Originally, the human body is the container (and the conduit) for divine energy!
A Kanji or a letter/syllable from another language does have a certain meaning. The meaning of the word we use for the power symbol, for example, is “ By Imperial Command” or “ Direct Spirit”. The meaning of the word we use for the Mental Healing Symbol is “ bad habit” (often used in connection with sexually perverted habits). This explains why in Japan the first two symbols are not chanted when they are used. Who could say, “ By the order of the Emperor, by the order of the Emperor, or even worse: bad habit, bad habit, bad habit… Usui sensei gave the symbols Japanese names, because that was his language. The names were to explain what the symbols were used for. So “bad habit” means, the symbol that we use to combat and heal bad habits. The origin of the second Reiki- Symbol is to be found in the ancient language of Sanskrit. It is a Sanskrit seed syllable from the Siddham Style Writing, called Hrih. In Japanese Buddhism*, this symbol represents the Amida Buddha, the Buddha of Love and Compassion as well as the Senju Kannon, the one thousand armed Bodhisattva. The Hrih, it is said, was formed out of a tear of Amida, a tear of compassion… * My knowledge of Buddhism is limited to the Japanese Version of Buddhism. So, knowingly or unknowingly, we call on this divine emanation when we perform Mental Healing. This means that it is not you, the “healer” who performs the healing, but the deity does… Life and death, illness and healing, all come and go by divine intervention. Remember the third Reiki Principle that says “ Kansha Shite”- be grateful… A Mantra A mantra is made of a sound, or a number of sounds that need to be pronounced in order to release its/their power. The Distant Healing Symbol is a mixture of both symbol and mantra. That means that it must be written and spoken to unfold its power. If it cannot be spoken aloud, it has to be at least pronounced silently. Our Distant Healing Symbol is made up of five Kanji that are jammed into one another. This is not done deliberately, but with precision and deep knowledge of the subtleties of the Japanese language. If you were to write all the Kanji separately, you would see that the top part of the second Kanji fits into the bottom part of the first. The top part of the third Kanji fits into the bottom part of the second. The top part of the fourth Kanji fits into the bottom part of the third. And the fifth Kanji remains as it is… This is a method often used in Shingon and Tendai Buddhism to create a mantra. This way the conscious mind is bypassed and the goods are delivered… The first who used this mantra is, to my knowledge, Saint Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist reformer who lived from 1222- 1282. A student of mine in Japan told me many years ago that it is also used in ancient Shintoism, and the meaning is “Man and God are One”. Confusion Everyone seems to have their own theory of what the Reiki symbols mean, and how they are supposed to be used. I have explained above where they come from, and what their cultural/ religious background is. Once you know the Source, you can walk to the Ocean on your own path. Reiki is liquid and it adjusts to the culture and the people that it is practiced by. Therefore many new ways of using the symbols have evolved. So I suggest that you incorporate what is useful- which you must find out for your self- and to let go of what is not for you. Then mix your own cocktail and… cheers! With love and gratitude from Germany, your friend Frank Arjava Petter
Copyright © 2007, by Frank Arjava Petter
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Frank
Arjava Petter |
