Reiki and the Healing Buddha

by Maureen J. Kelly

Book Overview

This book reconnects Reiki with its Buddhist antecedents and provides both the experienced practitioner and the interested lay person with new insights and viewpoints on Reiki.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0914955926
• ISBN13: 9780914955924
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Lotus Press (WI)
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Reiki and the Healing Buddha

Many resources on Reiki mention a connection between Master Usui's Reiki and Buddhism. Often the comment is made almost in passing, suggesting that the Master studied Buddhist texts and questioned many monks about their healing techniques. Some even delimit this experience by noting that the monks told him that they had lost the ways to physically heal that now their methods only healed at the spiritual level. Reiki and the Healing Buddha goes beyond the myths that surround Master Usui and his techniques. The author compares important aspects used in Buddhism with the Reiki precepts. She even delves deeper into the Usui story to illustrate that perhaps the happenings show an underlying Buddhist connection. That the founding story actually contains two levels of understanding: a surface story that everyone learns by rote and the hidden symbolism of something more profound. Beyond being very intriguing reading, I learned some very practical skills from this work. I had always been taught that when drawing symbols, they should be perfect in all ways. However, Reiki and the Healing Buddha discusses the possibility that flaws in the way we draw symbols might actually be used to note particular areas of dis-ease that need to be addressed.

Valuable Buddhist reference

~~~This is a superb book to read in conjunction with Richard Blackwell (Lama Yeshe)'s book Medicine Dharma Reiki. The association of Reiki with the tradition of the Healing, or Medicine, Buddha is even more precisely outlined there.Despite what one of the reviewers says about Reiki and Buddhism, Maureen Kelly and Richard Blackwell both draw on documents from Reiki's founder, Mikao Usui, and extensively note his teachings in establishing and expanding this connection. Maureen Kelly carefully~~~~ goes through secondary sources on his teachings; Richard Blackwell is fortunate to have primary sources that he translates from the Japanese. He adds his own commentary as well.This is an outstanding book on its own; I just wanted to mention its connection to this second volume. Both are great books to read together; each is outstanding on its own merits-- spiritual and textual-- as well. I am a Yogi, not a Reiki practitioner, but I have had Reiki and my practitioners all love this book: it~~ enhanced their knowledge and gave them a structure for their own practices.~

A clearly-written and graceful book

This book is an extraordinary (and extraordinarily clear) discussion of the Buddhist roots of Reiki. The author has in great detail put Reiki practice in the context of meditation on the Healing, or Medicine Buddha within the Esoteric Buddhist tradition. I am a Reiki Master who previously searched on my own for more information on this subtle healing energy. This book clears up many earlier inconsistencies in writings about Reiki's origins and gives a detailed and quite beautiful view on what Reiki's roots may ultimately be.This book is not just beautiful for the concepts discussed, but also for its graceful, measured, and lucid presentation. A tremendous spiritual volume.

An excellent book!

Hi! I'm a Reiki practitioner.This book is very well researched and is a must read for all Reiki practitioners and Masters.It shows the connection between Reiki and the Healing Buddha. For example, the Reiki Master symbol is actually "hidden" within the vows of the Healing Buddha! Another interesting fact is that the two Bodhisattvas assisting the healing Buddha are called "Bright Sun" and "Bright Moon", the names of which if combined together gives you a significant portion of the Reiki Master symbol.There is also an indepth discussion on the "hidden" meanings of the traditional Mikao Usui's background and story...etc. Lastly, there is also much explanation of the Reiki symbols and their background and uses.What are you waiting for? GRAB THIS BOOK NOW!