Wednesday, June 26, 2013

With Respect To Our Reiki Ohana: Chijuro Hayashi


Usui, Hayashi, Takata...Rand.

William Lee Rand did a marvelous research on the history of Reiki. To give him full credit, and the full article if you are interested, here is the link to his website for International Center For Reiki Training's article on the history:

What I will do is share with you the beautiful story of Chijuro Hayashi by taking a section of Rand's article to share with you:

 Chujiro Hayashi
Before his passing, Usui Sensei had asked Hayashi Sensei to open his own Reiki clinic and to expand and develop Reiki Ryoho based on his previous experience as a medical doctor in the Navy. Motivated by this request, Hayashi Sensei started a school and clinic called Hayashi Reiki Kenkyukai (Institute). After Usui Sensei’s passing he also left the Gakkai.
At his clinic he kept careful records of all the illnesses and conditions patients who came to see him had. He also kept records of which Reiki hand positions worked best to treat each patient. Based on these records he created the Reiki Ryoho Shinshin (Guidelines for Reiki Healing Method).(25) This healing guide was part of a class manual he gave to his students. Many of his students received their Reiki training in return for working in his clinic.(26)
Hayashi Sensei also changed the way Reiki sessions are given. Rather than have the client seated in a chair and treated by one practitioner as Usui Sensei had done, Hayashi Sensei had the client lie on a treatment table and receive treatment from several practitioners at a time. He also created a new more effective system for giving Reiju (attunements).(27) In addition, he developed a new method of teaching Reiki that he used when he traveled. In this method, he taught both Shoden and Okuden (Reiki I&II) together in one five-day seminar. Each day included two to three hours of instruction and one Reiju.(28)
Because of his trip to Hawaii in 1937–38 prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was asked by the Japanese military to provide information about the location of warehouses and other military targets in Honolulu. He refused to do so and was declared a traitor. This caused him to lose face, which meant he and his family would be disgraced and would be ostracized from Japanese society. The only solution was seppuku (ritual suicide), which he carried out. He died honorably on May 11, 1940.(29)


Hayashi-Sensi, domo arigato and many many heartfelt thanks for laying down your life to spare the people of Hawaii, by refusing to inform Japan of Hawaii's war targets, and following through with ritual suicide, seppuku, to end your own life honorably.

I wish I could have given you Reiki to help you at that terrible time!

honorable Hayashi Sensei we would not have Reiki today if it were not for your leadership

Gassho,

Reiki Doc