REIJU

IS an energetic "empowerment" procedure. The word is usually translated as "blessing" or "giving Spirit." There are significant differences between Reiju as I have learned it and the modern Reiki "Attunement":

• — Reiju does not involve symbols (which, during Attunement, are implanted in the recipient's aura);
• — Reiju is typically given regularly and frequently (often weekly), while Attunement is normally given only once at each level of Reiki training.

Energetic "empowerment," regardless of the procedure used, increases our awareness of certain energies (or states of being, or aspects of the Self). To me, the Usui Reiju procedure feels much more natural than the Attunement procedure. I like the simplicity of Reiju. I like that it does not use symbols. And, I feel, the greatest benefit of Reiju over Attunement is the frequent repetition of it. Weekly (or even daily) Reiju is a great way of cleaning our energy field and increasing our awareness and capacity of Reiki.

Among Reiki researchers, there are differing accounts of Reiju's history. Both Dave King and Chris Marsh have spent much time in Japan, and both have learned from people who were taught by Mikao Usui himself; and Dave and Chris have learned very different things!

According to Dave King's teachers, Usui gave no energetic empowerments, just a simple "rite of passage" ceremony at each level of training. The Reiju procedure, Dave believes, was developed by one of Usui's final students, Jusaburo Ushida, and was based on a procedure called Denju ("instruction" or "initiation") — which was used by Usui's close friend and student Toshihiro Eguchi, in Eguchi's own palm-healing method. But Chris Marsh's teachers have said that Usui did teach them the Reiju procedure, and that it came from Tendai Buddhism.

We know that Reiju has been used in the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, throughout its history. So ... how did we get from Reiju to the modern Reiki Attunement, via Dr. Hayashi and Hawayo Takata?

Dave King was taught that, for a time, Dr. Hayashi used Usui's "rite of passage" ceremony (called "Transformation") ... and that eventually he replaced it with an energetic empowerment procedure, known as Jikiden ("initiation" or "direct transmission of mysteries or skill"). And that Hawayo Takata (Hayashi's student) later modified the Jikiden procedure, to create what is known as the Reiki Attunement.

NEXT TO Mrs. Takata, the student of Dr. Hayashi who became most well known was probably Mrs. Chiyoko Yamaguchi. Mrs. Yamaguchi received the first two levels of Reiki training (Shoden and Okuden) from Dr. Hayashi, and the final level (Shihan) from her uncle Wasaburo Sugano (who was a student of Hayashi). In 1999, Mrs. Yamaguchi and her son Tadao began teaching what they called Jikiden Reiki. Their intent was to teach Reiki as Mrs. Yamaguchi had learned it from Dr. Hayashi and Mr. Sugano.

You might think they named it Jikiden Reiki because the initiation procedure was called Jikiden (meaning "initiation" or "direct transmission of mysteries or skill"). That's what I thought ... until being told otherwise by an Assistant Teacher (Shihan Kaku) of Jikiden Reiki. In fact, the word Jikiden in Jikiden Reiki does not mean "initiation" or "direct transmission of mysteries or skill" — it means "direct information or transmission by word of mouth." The Yamaguchis chose this word to indicate that they were passing on the teachings of Dr. Hayashi "without alteration."

According to the Yamaguchis, the initiation method used by Dr. Hayashi was not called Jikiden, it was Reiju. However, the Reiju taught in Jikiden Reiki — Dr. Hayashi's Reiju, allegedly — is not the same as the Reiju I learned (which allegedly was taught to other students of Mikao Usui) ... according to the aforementioned Jikiden Reiki Assistant Teacher. He also says, "In Japanese styles of Reiki, the Reiki teacher will use the term Reiju for the procedure of performing Reiju, Initiation, Attunement, Transformation, Empowerment or whatever you want to call it...." And, Tadao Yamaguchi, in his book Light on the Origins of Reiki, often follows the word "Reiju" with "attunement" in parentheses.

All this makes me wonder, "Are symbols involved in the Jikiden/Hayashi version of Reiju, then?" The Jikiden teacher says: "I am unable to discuss such details :-)"

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