What is the history of the Reiki healing system?
Many people believe that the Reiki healing methods are similiar to those used by Buddha and Christ. The tradition may have been passed down by spiritual people in India and Tibet, and was relatively unknown to the “Western” world until recently. One modern story of Reiki begins with Mikao Usui, a Christian minister and university president from Kyoto, Japan. In the late 1800’s, Usui apparently embarked upon a several-year quest to find out more about this ancient healing system, attributed to the Buddhist philosophy of healing the mind, body, and emotional self through spiritual means. This experience culminated on Mt. Koriyama (in Japan), when after a 21-day period of meditating and fasting, Usui “received” the Reiki symbols and instructions on how to activate the healing process through their use. Usui then travelled throughout Japan teaching and healing people. Usui’s successor was Chujiro Hayashi, who made about 16 Reiki masters before his death in 1941. This included the first fem
