Reiki And Medicine Buddha
In the earlier post on Healing with Reiki , I mentioned that the system originated from the Tibetan Medicine Buddha Tantra Of Healing. The Medicine Buddha, also known as Bhaisajyaguru, has an important place in the pantheon of Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism.
He is the healing aspect or Avatar of the Buddha Shakyamuni or Gautama Buddha as we know him.
The word Tantra might be confusing since it has so many connotations. David Gordon White, author of ‘Tantra In Practice’ loosely defined it as ‘an Asian body of beliefs and practices, which, working from the principle that the universe we experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the divine energy of the Godhead that creates and maintains that universe, seeks to ritually appropriate and channel that energy within the human microcosm in creative and emancipatory ways’.
In that context Tantra is a collection of rituals that seeks to attain certain abilities for the practioners. In the case of Reiki this ritual is confined to the empowerment by the Reiki Master.
Tibetan Buddhism considers the Medicine Buddha Empowerment to be ‘a most powerful blessing for healing, dispelling sickness and awakening the innate healing wisdom that lies within each individual’. The Reiki Empowerment is an adaptation of that, with the same goal. It seeks to attain, for the practitioner, the ability to access healing energy.
After the empowerment one is able to use the energy to heal oneself and others by applying the energy, which flows out through the centre of the hands, to specific chakra points.
To do this one has to merely have an intention to heal. There are no other rituals or procedures necessary. Reiki adapts to any belief system and is also complementary in that it can be used to enhance any other system of medicine and also reduce any side effects.
To understand the concept of energy healing we need to first understand our energy body and the energy circulatory system.
Our being consists of the physical body, an energy body which surrounds it, referred to as the Aura, energy centers or the Chakras, and energy channels or meridians known as Nadis. The study of the energy system is vast and complex but a basic understanding is all that is needed here.
The Aura, also known as the ‘subtle body’, surrounds the physical body and any external energy passes through it before it reaches us. It acts as a protective layer and a healthy Aura is said to have the ability to dispel any negative energy that comes our way. The health of the Aura depends on our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual processes. Physical exercise, positive mental emotional attitudes and spiritual activities like prayer, meditation etc, ensure a healthy Aura. Negation of the above causes the energy of the aura to deplete. Energy healing, in this case Reiki, also helps in ensuring a healthy Aura. There has to be a combination of all of the above for optimum health. None is more important than the other. Reiki and meditation help in fostering positive attitudes and a healthy lifestyle. But we need to have complete commitment and a desire to heal ourselves for any of this to work. Half hearted attempts will definitely not yield results.
Another component of the energy body is the Chakra system. The first mention of Chakras is found in the Upanishads and these Vedic models were adapted into Tibetan medicine. They are best described as energy centers or energy nodes. While they are often depicted as flat discs at specific points in the body or just outside the body, they are actually more like funnels spiraling out from the body. They are in constant motion and energy is sucked in and released through them. Any stagnation in the motion of the chakras causes imbalances in health. This stagnation is caused by the same reasons that cause the depletion of the Aura. The chakra positions correspond to the endocrine system or the glandular system in the physical body. There are seven main chakras which are positioned just above the seven main glands. They affect the health of the glands and in turn the organs which are governed by the glands. Apart from this physical aspect they also govern mental, emotional and spiritual aspects. Each Chakra is in charge of certain aspects. Therefore holistic health depends on the health of the chakras. When any one chakra is affected this imbalance is transferred to the other chakras through the Nadis or Energy channels.
Reiki energy is effective for healing and balancing the Chakras and clearing the Aura thereby ensuring holistic health. Regular application of the energy results in transformation and self growth. We learn to let go of unnecessary thoughts and emotional tangles and incorporate positive lifestyle changes. All it requires is about half an hour a day. We can invest at least that much time on ourselves!
HOLISTIC HEALING WITH REIKI
In a world where people are trying to make some sense of the chaos around them it is only natural that they search for tools that will help them do so. Man’s instinct for survival makes him search for something which will ensure that he does not sink without a trace into the bog of stress and confusion that surrounds him. Therefore it is not surprising that we find a vast number of alternate therapies available which help us lead balanced and harmonious lives. We call these therapies “alternate”now but there was a time when these were mainstream systems in specific cultures, but as life became convoluted and complex nobody had the time and patience for them. This was mainly due to the fact that holistic healing methods were usually lifestyle based. It was not a question of popping a pill and getting on with the task at hand. There were rules and codes of conduct to follow. Life had to be lived in a certain way. These systems did not deal with the physical body alone, they were “holistic” a word derived from the Greek word ‘Holos’ which means ‘the Whole’. They dealt with the whole being, which include spiritual, mental, emotional and physical aspects. All these aspects had to be balanced and healed before we achieved not only physical but also mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing which then translated into a harmonious life. It was a package deal, there was no separating one from the other and so it follows that people moved away from them to other systems where they did not have to put in as much time, effort, and more importantly, thought into their own healing. We gave up the responsibility of looking after ourselves and creating a healthy, integrated life. We started becoming dependent on others for our well being. As society is made up of individuals and the world at large of societies, chaos followed this relegation of responsibility. And now we suffer the consequences.
But having said that I need to point out that we are really not in a position now to go back completely to any thing that will mean drastic life changes. What we need now is something that we can incorporate into our existing way of life which will fine tune it and do away with negative aspects and reinforce the positive ones. Most Holistic Therapies have, thankfully, been adapted to present needs and lifestyles which means that we can adopt them without turning our lives upside down, which would only add to the existing stress levels! We also have a system of mainstream medicine to support us in case of need. One does not exclude the other. So it’s time to take responsibility again.
Reiki is one of the many alternate therapies available to us now. An adaptation of the Tibetan Medicine Buddha system, the beauty of Reiki lies in it’s simplicity. The founder, Dr Mikao Usui, studied the Tibetan method and adapted it to his native Japanese Buddhist practices, naming it Reiki. It was then further simplified by the Western Reiki masters to fit into our present day lives. In the process Reiki has become secular and is now practiced by people of varying belief systems. There is definitely the concept of a higher power but no specific prayers or rituals to follow except the initial attunement done by the master to enable the practioners to access the healing energy. Reiki translated from Japanese means Universal Life Force Energy. It is a combination of the words ‘Rei’, meaning universal or spiritual and ‘Ki’ ,which means life force energy. Ki is synonymous to ‘Prana’ in Sanskrit and ‘Qi’ in Chinese. When Ki is depleted health is eroded. For optimum health we need a good supply of Life Force Energy. Reiki provides us with an ever present supply of Universal Energy to ensure Holistic health. There is a clearing of blocks in every aspect of our lives. Harmony and Abundance follow.
Life changes occur in the course of Reiki Healing. This is because, very often, our external circumstances are governed by our mental and emotional blocks and conditioning. Once we clear these off with the healing energy our lives start changing for the better. This happens gradually and when you look back after a period of time the changes will be very obvious.
For optimum healing to take place it is important to focus the energy on negative aspects in ourselves that are causing the problems. We need to do some serious soul searching and realize what it is in ourselves that we need to change. Not a very pleasant exercise but completely worthwhile because once we know what to work on the healing is much faster.
To start healing with Reiki one needs to be attuned to the energy by a Reiki master. Reiki then flows out through the palms when needed. All that is necessary for the energy to flow is the intention. The palms are then placed on specific points on the body. These points correspond to the chakra system which was used in ancient Indian healing systems. To understand how Reiki works we need to understand the chakras in some detail.
