13. Reiki and Related Techniques

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AT Kit 2004DRAFT : Reiki and Other Healing Modalities 139

Reiki and other healing modalities update-2009

October 2009

The following explanation is provided for assistant teachers to guidethem in dealing with course applicants involved with Reiki andother energy-based healing practices

Origin of Reiki

Reiki is a !apanese word Rei means universal" ki #similar to the$hinese chi% means life energy

&ccording to those who teach it' Reiki is a very ancient healingmethod mentioned in the (edic scriptures of )ndia

Two generations ago' a !apanese physician named *sui wassearching for a gentle method of treating illness +e studied thescriptures of di,erent religions in $hinese as well as anskrit )n the(edic scriptures' he found some symbols that he could notunderstand .editating on a mountaintop' he saw bubbles comingfrom the sky inscribed with these symbols" when they touched his

forehead' he understood the meaning /escending the mountain' hemet and cured some sick people by placing his hands on them

)n his lifetime' /r *sui practiced the techniue he had found 1henhe died' his chosen successor was .rs Tanaka' a !apanese womanliving in +awaii' whom he had cured of a life-threatening disease

& schism occurred when .rs Tanaka died oth her daughter 3hyllis4uromoto and the &merican arbara 1ebber-Ray claimed to be heirto the title of grand master of Reiki' and they established twoseparate teaching lineages ut there may be still other traditions

How it is taught

Reiki is usually taught in two steps or three' although this may vary

The 5rst degree is usually taught during one weekend The studentslearn6

a symbol to call the healing energy"

how to place their hands during a treatment" and

how to treat themselves and others

The history of the techniue is explained and students receive the



140 AT Kit 2004DRAFT : Reiki and Other Healing Modalities

5rst 7initiation8 One by one they are called into a separate roomand asked to keep their eyes closed while the master 7opens theirReiki channel8 ie' attunes the aspirant:s energy 5eld so that itcan access and then channel the Reiki energy in the universe Theceremony concludes with the master blowing air onto the top of thehead and the area of the heart The student is then asked toimmediately practice Reiki on another student undergoing initiation

The second degree' also taught in a weekend' goes into more detailtudents learn how to perform distance healings and mentalhealings #a;rmations given to change negative habits' attitudes'etc%

Once again' symbols are used to establish contact and summon thehealing forces' and a ceremony is performed during which thestudent is asked to keep the eyes closed

& third degree' also taught in a weekend' gives the training tobecome a Reiki master tudents learn how to initiate others

There are charges for all levels of training' but the fees for the thirddegree are uite high Reiki holds that money is a basic life force" in

<usti5cation for the fees' Reiki master candidates are told that theywill uickly acuire money once they start performing initiations

How it is practiced

There are three ways of practicing6

/irect treatment of oneself involves placing one:s hands on thebody #or at a small distance from it% in a prescribed manner

/irect treatment of another person again involves placing handson or near the body The treatment lasts up to one and a halfhours

/istance healing involves visuali=ing the person and sendingReiki' making prescribed motions in the air

& variant is mental healing' which involves visuali=ing a symbol anduietly reciting a mantra in order to achieve direct contact with themind of the person being treated .ental healing can be a feature ofdirect as well as distance treatments

1hen sending Reiki it is common also to send light' love and energy

.embers of a group of Reiki practitioners often take turns sendingeach other Reiki 4or example' if a person is unwell' he>she can askfor a week of Reiki from other members




The Dierences between Reiki and Vipassana(ipassana is the ob<ective observation of natural phenomena'allowing the truths of impermanence' su,ering and egolessness toreveal themselves )t changes a person:s behavior by graduallyreducing his>her inner tendencies to act in ways that increase his>herown su,ering ut if a meditator tries to manipulate the ob<ect ofattention even for an altruistic purpose there is no ob<ectiveobservation and no mental transformation This is why anytechniue involving such manipulation is incompatible with(ipassana' and why anyone practicing Reiki or other energy-basedhealing techniues cannot at the same time progress in (ipassana

& further incompatibility concerns 5nances 4ees are an in-built partof the structure of Reiki' whereas any payment destroys the purityand e;cacy of (ipassana ome Reiki healers have learned(ipassana and then advertised that they teach it for payment' alongwith Reiki uch commercialisation is opposed to the very spirit of(ipassana

.ixing (ipassana with another techniue rules out any progress in(ipassana )n addition' certain practices are so fundamentallyopposed to (ipassana that any attempt to mix them can haveunpredictable conseuences To protect students' we must minimi=e

the risk to them by limiting the number of courses o,ered to personsinvolved with such practices' including Reiki and other energy-basedhealing techniues

Reiki and Mett± Bh±van±

&n often-repeated argument is that Reiki practice is <ust like Mett±Bh±van±. This is untenable & brief look into the training given toReiki practitioners shows that the aspirant must undergo an initiationceremony from a Reiki master' involving incantations and the use ofsymbols imilar ceremonies are performed for more advanced

initiationsMett± Bh±van± involves no such solicitation of energy or powerfrom any outside source' nor is the ability to practice Mett±Bh±van± dependent upon any other person )n Mett± Bh±van± weobserve the naturally occurring sensations within ourselves' and wepro<ect feelings of universal love and good will

The ability to pro<ect these feelings strengthens as we progress inthe practice of (ipassanaMett± Bh±van± is an ad<unct to our main practice' which is




Vipassana Bh±van±. )t is (ipassana that leads us to the goal ofpuri5cation of mind

Guideines for accepting appicants who practice Reiki orother energetic heaing techni!ues

Reiki practitioners and other similar healers #that is' those whopractice any form of spiritual healing that involves the laying on ofhands or attempts to channel or manipulate energies% should beallowed to attend one (ipassana course so that they have theopportunity to practice pure /hamma

+owever' energy-based healing techniues are incompatible with(ipassana' making it unsafe for healers to work deeply in (ipassana?xperience has shown that these people harm themselves and harmothers by combining the practice of (ipassana with Reiki etc 4or thisreason such persons are o,ered only one (ipassana course' afterwhich they should decide whether to continue with (ipassana andcompletely cease their healing techniue' or to continue with theirhealing practice and take no further (ipassana courses To helpimplement this guideline' @oenka<i has clari5ed some points' asfollows6

&nyone who mentally uses an arti5cial #ie' deliberately created%

vibration' originating either externally or internally' and who directsthis vibration to a patient as part of the healing process should beunderstood to be an energy-based healer' whether they are a simplepractitioner' a 7master8 or a teacher of the techniue Reikipractitioners are among those considered to be energy-basedhealers

?nergy-based healers should be informed that their techniue is notcompatible with (ipassana ?4OR? taking their 5rst course &nyapplicant #old or new student% whose application form indicatespractice of an energy-based healing techniue should be informed of

this incompatibility .any &Ts have found that informing applicantsby telephone works well' helping the healers to understand andaccept the importance of our position" but such personal contact isnot always feasible 4or such cases' the three letters below may besent to applicants by the course registrar at the appropriate time$ourse registrars should refer all correspondence on the matter to alocal assistant teacher or teacher' who will take the 5nal decision onwhether to limit an applicant to one course




This guideline should be applied to all energy-based healers' nomatter how many (ipassana courses they have taken Ao &T' &T orteacher should deal with applicants on a case-by-case basis

&fter they complete a course' all energy-based healers should beplaced on the referral list and' if they apply for another course'should be asked whether they have ceased their healing practice

They may be accepted only if they have stopped these practices

The restriction applies as well to participation in group sittings andcourses shorter than ten days

)n placing this restriction' our motive is to protect energy-based

healers from harming themselves by intentionally or unintentionallymixing their techniue with (ipassana Refusing anyone for a courseis certainly 5rm action that we take only after careful consideration)t is important that the action be taken with a base of mett±' andthis attitude should be uppermost in implementing the restriction

)n addition' any person who has been teaching any other techniueof meditation' and any healing professional who has been teachingor practicing techniues which are incompatible with (ipassana#eg' Reiki' hypnotherapy% may sit a (ipassana course but shouldnot be allowed to sit more than one (ipassana course

On" energ"#based heaers who perfor$ their heaing onothers are being restricted to one course% that is& sef#heaers are e'e$pted fro$ the one#course i$itation( elf-healers and others involved with similarly conBicting practicesshould be advised of the inherent conBict with (ipassana but nolimitation is to be placed on the number of courses they may take&ll energy-based healers should also be warned that they should notpractice their healing techniue on either themselves or othersduring a (ipassana course

3ractitioners of acupuncture' acupressure and masseurs are notbanned from attending successive courses' or from serving on

courses' but such students should not practice these at the centre orcourse site

)f it is found that anyone is practicing or encouraging Reiki or othertechniues during the course' s>he should immediately be asked toleave the site This should be strictly enforced

CCC




The foowing for$ etters $a" be used to screen appicants)

*or$ etter +, -to new student appicants who indicate abackground in energ"#based heaing.

/ear DAameE6 Thank you for your application to <oin a (ipassana meditation course

On your form you mention that you have practiced an energy-basedhealing techniue' namely'

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF ince our

experience has shown us that this practice is in conBict with thetechniue of (ipassana' we can provisionally accept you for only onecourse" however' you must undertake to completely suspend thepractice for the entire course period

)f you agree' please let us know and we will process your application

Of course' if you have discontinued the conBicting practice' we willbe happy to also welcome you to additional courses in the future

incerely'

DAameEfor (ipassana .editation $entre




CCC*or$ /etter + 0 -to od students who indicate invove$ent inenerg"#based heaing techni!ues1

/ear DAameE6

Thank you for your interest in <oining a (ipassana meditation course

Gour application mentions an energy-based healing techniue'namely' FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF' which poses a potentialconBict for your participation in this course 1e make no <udgmentabout the techniue that you have been practicing" however' ourexperience has shown us that it is incompatible with (ipassanameditation

Our overriding concern is the welfare of our students 4or thisreason' we cannot accept persons for more than one course if theyare practicing conBicting techniues 1e regret that we must refuseyour application

1e will be happy to welcome you to a (ipassana course #either now

or in the future% when you have completely discontinued theconBicting practice

1ith best wishes'DAameEfor (ipassana .editation $entre

CCC

*or$ etter 2o( 3 -for new4od student appicants withpotentia practice in con5ict.

/ear DAameE6

Thank you for applying to <oin a ten-day (ipassana meditationcourse

Gou have indicated that you have some experience with energy-based healing' namely' FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF To help us evaluate yourapplication' would you please answer the following uestions




regarding this healing practice and return this form to us as soon aspossible

H /oes your practice involve drawing upon any energy sourceoutside of yourselfI

2 /oes your practice involve any attempt to mentally direct' alter orotherwise manipulate energy within other personsI

J /o you practice on othersI

K 3lease describe your practice in detail

Thank you *pon receipt of this form the assistant teacher will makea decision on your application and inform you as soon as possible

DAameEfor (ipassana .editation $entre

CCC*or$ etter 2o( 6 -to new student appicants who indicate abackground in energ"#based heaing.

/ear DAameE6

Thank you for your interest in <oining a (ipassana meditation course

Gour application mentions an energy-based healing techniue'namely' FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF Our experience has shown us

that this practice is in conBict with (ipassana meditation +owever'since you are not practicing on others' we can accept you to thecourse if you undertake to completely suspend the practice for theentire course period

)f you agree' please let us know and we will process your application

incerely'DAameE




for (ipassana .editation $entre

CCC

Direct contact by assistant teachers may be the best way to dealwith the applicants who indicate a background in energetic healingtechniques. The T has a chance to e!plain more "ully# with mett±#the reasons "or concern. $ometimes this is not "easible and the"ollowing letters are e!amples o" possible ways to e!plain our position via letter.

$ample letter %

&rom 'oenka(i to a serious old student who is asking about Reiki andalso about acupuncture

/ear

) have received your letter about Reiki and (ipassana

The intention behind some psychic healing practices is good+owever all such practices attempt to alter reality by means ofcalling on some external force or auto-suggestion This prevents thepractitioner from observing the truth as it is Therefore they arefundamentally at odds with the ob<ective observation of reality thatis (ipassana

The purpose of /hamma is to make one strong and independent1hen one depends on an external force' he>she gets weakened oan energy healer may actually be harming the recipient or patient bymaking him or her addicted to a pleasant sensation of which he has

no awareness One makes subtle but strong sa)kh±ras #karma% ofcraving

ince you are a serious (ipassana meditator' you will appreciate thatthe practice of mett± is corrupted and the main aim of puri5cation of mind is lost in these practices 3lease understand that this restrictionis not based on speculative reasoning alone but on actual experienceall over the world ) had to take this strong step reluctantly becauseof experience of many cases around the world where mixing Reiki




and (ipassana harmed Reiki practitioners to the extent that some ofthem became mentally imbalanced .any' many Reiki practitionersstarted distorting the practice of (ipassana' harming theirpatients>students' harming themselves and confusing the newstudents of (ipassana

/octors of medicine' physiotherapists' acupuncture>acupressurepractitioners don:t use external forces or vibrations and are not likelyto distort (ipassana They are not allowed to practice acupressureetc at the (ipassana center but are allowed to sit and serve *nlikespiritual healings' they are not likely to confuse others as they have

a clear physical focus and don:t have theories and practices thatobstruct awareness of truth as it is

(ipassana centres have a commitment to maintain the purity oftechniue Our assistant teachers have to be alert to this possibilityand make sure that at the (ipassana $entre students are allowed tolearn and practice (ipassana in a proper and pure atmosphere Thepresence of psychic healers' reiki practitioners' hypnotists' etccertainly doesn:t help

.ay you continue to progress in /hamma and help others on the

path of /hammaL 1hen you progress in /hamma' your purity willcertainly have an extraordinary healing and soothing e,ect onothersL

.ay you be happy' peaceful and liberatedL

1ith mett±'

A @oenkaCCC

$ample *etter +

&rom 'oenka(i to a student who is teaching another techniqueasking why he can,t take more Vipassana courses and why he can,tcombine an ancient tradition "rom his land with Vipassana since hisland has openly accepted Vipassana.

There is no ban on (ipassana meditators giving a trial to othertechniuesfar from it +owever' ) do expect them to make adecision sooner or later as to which techniue suits them The earlierthey make this choice' the more time they have to work diligently




and wholeheartedly on the techniue they have chosen till ) don:tgive a time limit

)t is a di,erent issue altogether when someone is teaching ameditation techniue ince he>she is teaching a meditationtechniue' it is assumed that he>she is completely happy with ituch a person will be wasting his time in a practice other than theone in which he or she has complete faith till' he>she is allowed totake one (ipassana course so that no one is denied the opportunityto give a trial to (ipassana

The same deference to the ancient tradition of your land that makes

me think twice about this issue also makes me think that perhapsyou would be better advised to keep the tradition distinct from thepractice of (ipassana

1ith mett±'A @oenka

CCC

R7898 :HO27 ;<// R7=:O2=7 *ORM

=tudent>s 2a$e) ??????????????????????????????????? ;ourseDates) ?????????????????????? <T ;aing)???????????)ntroduce yourself and try to set a non-<udgmental' conversationaltone):m calling to speak with you about some items you mentioned onyour application )s this a good time to speak with youI

Gou wrote on your application that you are6a student of Reikicerti5ed in Reikipracticing a type of energy healingother FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

$an you tell me more speci5cally to what extent you are currentlystudying' practicing or employing energy healing techniues in yourlivelihoodIAot at all any more D E ome D E & lot D E 3ractices on self

D E3ractices on others D E *ses it in livelihood D E

1e appreciate that you mentioned this on your application to us




1e usually speak individually to any student who applies to ourcourses and is practicing a form of energy healing becauseenergy-healing techniues di,er greatly from what you will belearning on your (ipassana course

1e want prospective students to understand these di,erencesbefore attending the course in order to prevent any confusionarising during the course

1e don:t condemn these kinds of healing techniues and reali=ethat people get many positive bene5ts from them +owever'students at our centers have become confused when'unintentionally or intentionally' they have mixed the two

techniues in their practice@ait for response(& then when appropriate)

The main di,erence between (ipassana and Reiki is that Reikiattempts to move energy in the body for the purpose ofhealing and may employ the channeling of an external agentto assist this process (ipassana' on the other hand' trains oneto merely observe whatever is happening in the body andmind' whether pleasant or unpleasant' without trying to healit' change it or move it )n this process' students developeuanimity towards whatever is naturally occurring asopposed to trying to create a particular experience or resulttudents are also asked to make their own e,orts' developdetermination from within oneself and not rely on any externalagent to help them

)f more explanation is needed6 &t a subtle level' there can be astrong attachment to trying to heal or get rid of somethingundesirable (ipassana aims to dissolve any attachments orcravings' even if it is to heal something )f' while learning to letgo of attachments' students are simultaneously developing acraving to heal something' it could cause much confusion dueto these opposing e,orts

Do "ou have an" !uestions about thisA or 8s this cearA)t would be important for us to know before we accept your

application to this course that you will not use your energyhealing practice during the course

)f any uestion arose about your practice or you unintentionallybegan to use your healing practice out of habit' we want tocon5rm that you would seek the guidance of the teacher

<re "ou wiing to agree to thisA 7= C 1 2O C 1




8f "es6 &t the end of your course' you are free to evaluate andcompare the bene5ts of (ipassana for yourself 1e are happyto invite students and practitioners of Reiki #or other energyhealing techniues% to attend one of our courses +owever'because of the incompatibility of the two' students who wantto return to our centers for a subseuent course must make adecision to completely discontinue their Reiki practice 3leaseunderstand that the restriction on Reiki practitioners is notbased on speculative reasoning alone but on actual experiencefrom all over the world 1hile it may be di;cult to understandthis now' prior to attending your course' we trust that once

you learn (ipassana from your ten-day course you willunderstand that Reiki and (ipassana are fundamentallyincompatible /o you have any uestionsI Thanks so much forbeing willing to speak with me about this ) will inform theregistration committee that you have approval for the courseand' depending if you are waitlisted for this course' you willknow that you are accepted when you receive a con5rmationletter detailing what to bring and what time to arrive

8f student does not agree' then inform him>her that we are sorrybut we cannot accept him>her into the course at this time for theabove reasons ?xplain reasons again but do not argue or debatewith student

13. Reiki and Related Techniques

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