prosperity said on
>Dear Ones,
> I'm a bit confused about what Usui and Takata really taught and what is real and what is not. (I rhyme!) Is the story true about Usui finally charging people as they only appreciate Reiki if there is a fair exchange of energy?
Hi Prosperity
here's something from my website....
Many people seem to think that Takata-sensei was responsible for introducing the concept of the need to charge for treatment/training
(a very modern term for the concept being the "Energy Exchange")
However in a 1928 Reiki Article by the playwright and journalist Shou Matsui states:
"I was introduced to Mr. Hayashi by a mutual acquaintance and I paid a large sum of money to learn this treatment method..."
Matsui was speaking of Shoden level - and if he had to pay what he [a quite affluent individual] considered " a large sum of money", it makes you wonder what Hayashi-sensei's fees for Okoden - never mind Shinpiden, might have been like.
Hayashi-sensei would certainly also have expected some form of payment for providing treatment.
And in Usui-sensei's day it was probably much the same. Students would have had to pay fees to attend Usui-sensei's Dojo, and no doubt payment for treatment would also be expected - this was common practice during the time whether one was learning an artistic, therapeutic, or martial discipline.
Certainly, other healers and therapists in the Meiji and Taisho eras required payment from clients (even those who practiced healing as members of the various 'New Religions' (and Traditional Religions for that matter) would expect 'donations' from those they had helped.
Usui-sensei is said to have provided emergency treatment for a great many people after the Kanto Earthquake, however, in Takata-sensei's version of the Reiki Story, Usui-sensei is also said to have realised that people don't always appreciate - and therefore do not reap the full benefits of - 'something-for-nothing'.
Actually, while the phrasing is modern, the original thinking behind the concept of the 'energy exchange' is much older.
In essence it speaks to the belief that in giving free treatments , the giver is seen to actually be making the receiver 'beholden' to them on some level.
It is all tied up with giri, okaeshi, and kansha.
Giri - in this usage, meaning obligation or indebtedness - is a big deal in Japanese culture. To be indebted to someone can in some circumstances carry with it a certain degree of shame - it can also simply weigh heavily on the mind, and as such be the cause of much stress (which can impact on the effectiveness of the treatment - possibly even counteract the therapeutic effects of a treatment).
Tied in with giri is okaeshi: meaning 'a gift in return'.
When someone gives one a gift (and this doesn't have to be a material or monetary gift - it can be advice, aid, assistance - treatment, etc) one can free oneself of obligation (and the psychological burden it can bring) by means of okaeshi - giving a gift in return.
[Often, if one wants something from a particular person, one will actually give the gift before asking for the thing.]
Okaeshi is the true origin of the 'energy exchange' (which technically doesn't have to be money - it can be a token item, payment in kind, performance of a service - something given to or done for the Reiki practitioner/Teacher - or for that matter something given to or done for a third party (with the Reiki practitioner/Teacher's approval) in line with the concept of 'Pay it forward'
By means of okaeshi / 'energy exchange' one can free oneself psychologically (also ethically/spiritually/karmically) of indebtedness to the practitioner, thus enabling one to fully accept the healing on all levels.
Okaeshi / 'energy exchange' is also a worldly means of expressing true kansha - gratitude: appreciation (and with it, true respect) for what one has received.
"Just for today, be Grateful" - Takata sensei held this as the most important of the principles.
When we truly appreciate / respect the treatment/training received, this also opens us (psychologically, spiritually, etc) to receive the full benefits of the 'gift'.
Kansha - Gratitude is also the acknowledgement of ones indebtedness to another (giri), and on yet another level (to a certain extent, one of 'self-interest') the generation and expression of true heart-felt gratitude is also perceived as a means whereby one can free oneself from the burden of indebtedness - i.e. gratitude itself becomes another level of okaeshi.
[And from a purely therapeutic point of view, the generation of the emotion of gratitude is also widely accepted as being highly conducive to the healing processes.]
reiki ni rei
James
