Reiki: The Path of Three Diamonds (Sample)

Reiki: The Path of Three Diamonds
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by Nathaniel
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Indie publishing, 2015

A State of Mind
http://astateofmind.eu
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by Nathaniel
Reiki: The Path of Three Diamonds 2015 by Nathaniel.
FIRST EDITION
Indie publishing, 2015
ISBN: 978-83-64699-12-2
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles and reviews, no
part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written
permission from the author.
Self-published under the A State of Mind brand, an official website of the
author.
Website: http://astateofmind.eu
Email: nathan@astateofmind.eu
Poland, 2015
Support Indie publishing by sharing your reviews of this work on Amazon.com

and Goodreads.com. The author appreciates your support.
Additional Credit:
Cover Photo: Daibutsu from Kamakura, Japan. Photo by Andrea Schaffer,
source: Flickr <https://www.flickr.com/photos/aschaf/3801559699> (Creative
Commons BY 2.0). Font used: OptimusPrinceps, by Manfred Klein.
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Table of Contents
Reiki: A Path of Self-Growth through Spiritual Self-Healing 9

Self-Healing and Personal Growth - Defined
16
East and West The Insights
20
Reiki as a Path of Inner Growth
23
Spiritual and Historical Sources of the Reiki Practice..........39

From Buddha to Usui
39
Spiritual Ideas and Concepts in Reiki
49
The Way of Three Diamonds................................................57

Reiki The Path that Leads to Unity
59
Hara, Heart and Head in the Practice of Reiki
69
Our True Nature and Integration of the Unconscious
74
Initiation the Path of Inner Transformation
84
Five Elements of Reiki.........................................................97

Reiju, or the Blessing
103
Five Reiki Precepts and the Secret of Happiness
114
Four Symbols and Jumons
123
Treatments and Self-Treatments
146
Breathing Techniques, Meditations and their Meaning
158
The Practice of Three Degrees............................................161

First Degree: Shoden
162
Second Degree: Okuden
177
Third Degree: Shinpiden
189
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by Nathaniel
Summary
196
Appendixes.........................................................................199
Glossary of Japanese Terms
199
Bibliography
202
About the Author
206
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There are Three Diamonds:

Of Earth, Heaven and Heart
When the Diamonds become One
The Man becomes One.
Reiki is the path of Earth.
It teaches us about our Great Mother.
She offers Life, food and shelter.
Reiki is the path of Heaven.
It teaches us about our Great Father.
He offers hope, love and strength.
Reiki is the path of Heart.
With it, we can see ourselves
In the eyes of all living beings.
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by Nathaniel
Notes for Good Start

Remember you can become a Reiki practitioner only through
proper attunement (initiation), that is passed onto you by a Reiki
teacher as you attend the first degree (Shoden) workshop/class.
While you can learn how to practice Reiki from books, articles or
recordings, the ability to work with Reiki itself must be passed
through attunement process.
***
This book presents my personal perspective upon Reiki practice.
It is not the only traditional approach, nor the definitely correct
approach. Nevertheless, I hope that some of you will find this
work inspiring and you will benefit from reading it.
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Reiki: A Path of SelfGrowth through

Spiritual Self-Healing
In the Western world, Reiki is considered mainly a form of
complementary therapy that is used to support classic forms of
therapies. Thus, Reiki is used at home, at medical facilities,
hospitals, animal care facilities and at other places, where it brings
positive benefits. But as far as we understand it today, Reiki as
therapy was not the intend of the method's creator, Mikao Usui,
when he created his system of healing. We believe that Usui have
created the path of Reiki as a path of personal self-healing practice,
and this self-healing was meant to help in spiritual growth
progress. The Tenohira1, that is healing by laying on of hands, was
1
Tenohira relates to healing by placing the hands on the body in a specific way,
for example, through particular hand positions. In case of Reiki, we can
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by Nathaniel
merely a part of the more complex system of traditional practice.

This book is meant to present you the method of Reiki as a path
of inner growth. It is meant to help you understand why do we use
some of the techniques in Reiki, what is their deeper meaning and
why some experiences are common for every practitioner on this
Reiki path. But before we do so, some terms and ideas must be
explained and mentioned, as we cannot practice without some
basic understanding.
Thus, let's begin with defining what Reiki is. This definition will
serve this book perfectly. 2 Books and articles provide us with
multiple definitions. For the purpose of this book, we will slightly
ignore (to some degree) the idea that Reiki is just energy. We won't
consider Reiki just a method of working with energy, either. Both
of those are interesting definitions, good for manuals and books
and Reiki classes, but for the purpose of this book, we will use a
different definition.
We shall understand Reiki as a term pointing us to a specific
school of thought the Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki. According to this
school, trying to create the proper definition, we shall say that:
Reiki is a practice, that once applied on regular basis in our
daily life, brings us back to the state of harmony, both the
inner harmony with ourselves, and the outer harmony with our
environment. The practice of Reiki brings back the state of
Unity.
In those few words, Reiki becomes no longer just energy and just
a method of working with energy. It becomes a practice, and the
encounter another word, teate, that refers to healing through touch, but in a
non-standard way.
2
These days I believe there are three definitions of Reiki. The first definition
explains Reiki for the purpose of Western therapy. The second definition
explains Reiki as a traditional spiritual practice. And the third definition is the
personal definition that every Reiki practitioner makes for himself/herself.
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practice becomes a part of our daily life. This practice is made of

five fundamental elements, that will be explained in this book. In
addition, what's interesting and very useful, is that Reiki itself does
not become the only life path or spiritual path, if the practitioner
does not wish so. The five elements of Reiki practice can be
successfully implemented as a part of some other spiritual practice
of inner-growth. Reiki, that said, is a complementary, and universal
practice.
And definitely, Reiki is a path of learning on this path, we
learn in many ways. We learn from books that we read, from texts
that we study, and from lectures that we listen to. The Buddhists
believe that even listening to a teacher or studying sacred texts and
knowledge is already a huge step on the path to our personal
enlightenment. In addition, we learn from our own life
experiences.
Knowledge is gained from books, workshops, lectures, while
wisdom is gained by experiencing life, and learning from every
single experience that life offers us. And the life offers us lessons
all the time. But in order for the knowledge and wisdom to
develop, often we need to get rid of the useless things we carry in
our mind and heart first. This reminds me of an old and wellknown tale about a monk and a teacher.
An old, well-respected teacher went to a Buddhist monk
for further teachings, so that he could improve his
knowledge. The monk sat down, and the teacher begun to
ask questions. He kept asking and there was no end to the
stream of his words. Suddenly, the monk begun to pour the
tea into a cup. He kept doing so, until the tea begun to spill
out from the cup, and even so the monk didn't stop pouring
the tea in.
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by Nathaniel
- What are you doing?! - screamed the teacher.

The monk put the kettle aside, looked at the teacher and
said.
- Like this cup, so is your mind. How can I teach you
anything new if your mind is already full?
The teacher understood what the monk meant. In order
to gain new knowledge, we must empty our mind first. 3
Like in the tale posted above, you, too, must forget about many
things that you have learned in the past. Especially if you've been
limited by a belief that Reiki is merely a form of energetic therapy
or alternative healing method, because it's a way more than just
that.
A person that practice Reiki on regular basis in his or hers heart,
mind and soul, by taking care of the five fundamental elements:
the self-treatment, meditations, five precepts, four mantras and
symbols and the blessing of Reiju (the attunement) 4, this is the
person that will rediscover what Reiki truly is, as the three
diamonds will be integrated into wholeness. Those three diamonds
are the metaphorical elements/energies/forces of earth, heaven and
heart. According to the general teachings of China and Japan, these
energies make all that exists. And Reiki is the path of uniting the
three diamonds. This book is exactly about this process of
unification and integration of the mentioned three precious,
3
This story is interesting in the context of our daily life. Often, we ask for new
experiences or material goods, but they won't come. And how should they
come if there is no more room for them in our life? Sometimes, we need to
get rid of the old stuff in order to make room for new stuff.
The western attunement is not the same thing as traditional Reiju but to
simplify things, I will use both these terms in this book, because the result of
the attunement and the Reiju is still the very same. More details on this will
be explained in dedicated chapter of this book.
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spiritual forces.
Searching for the Answers Within Yourself
As Frans Stiene said, the outer Reiki teacher is only here to help
you find the inner teacher within you. That said, to continue from
my own perspective, in reality there is only one teacher Reiki.
And only one student you. This is a reiki-specific thought that
translates as a universal truth: there is only one teacher: the highest
spiritual power some people call The Universe, God, Absolute, the
Great Spirit. You are the only student this truth remains
unchanged.
A lot of people seeks life guideposts and tips for good living in
spiritual techniques and paths. They seek a better life. Religions
and ideologies provide the believers with sacred books and
thoughts of great philosophers. Things like this are nowhere to be
found in the practice of Reiki. In this method, the only guidelines
are called Reiki Precepts, traditionally known as Gokai. Some
people like to acknowledge the Waka poems as an additional guide
into spirituality. The Gokai are universal and are unrelated to any
specific religion or ideology. The Waka are the effect of work of a
Japanese emperor Meiji, who ruled Japan at the lifespan of Usui
Mikao. The organization somehow created by Usui, the Usui Reiki
Ryoho Gakkai, tells us that Usui associated the Waka poems to the
practice of Reiki in order to provide the students with additional
ethical guidelines.
But other sources tells us that Usui added the Waka poems to his
teachings only because of the state politics. It is said that at the era
of Meiji, anything that was anti-government was not welcomed in
Japan acting against the Emperor could lead people to jail. Even
spiritual groups such as the one lead by Usui were suspicious in
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by Nathaniel
the eyes of the government. The government tried to make sure

such groups would not oppose the state religion of Shinto. In order
to provide political safety to his teachings, Usui is said to strongly
advice studies of Waka poems to his students. 5 Today, we are
unsure if Usui have seen a spiritual benefit in Waka poems, or was
it just a political step. Still, it doesn't matter that much because
even today we can acknowledge the fact that the Meiji's Waka
poems can provide a great anchor for contemplation on ethics and
spirituality even if it is not considered to be an integral part of
Reiki system by most.
Let's go back to the main subject. Is there anything but Gokai
and Waka in the practice of Reiki that may act as an ethical guide
to proper living? While it's agreeable that Reiki has some of its
roots in the paths of Shinto, Taoism and Buddhism, none of this
paths is directly, strongly related to the Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki.
This is where we reach the final reality: the practice of Reiki leads
us to realize that we, as Reiki practitioners and as individuals,
should stop searching for knowledge int he outside world, and
begin to seek knowledge within ourselves. Each one of us carries
all the answers we need in ourselves. It's a path of our nature,
whether we call it the state of primal humanity, or the Nature of
Buddha. The practice of Reiki does not tells us do not read and do
not listen - this is useful, but it's only a part of the idea. In reality,
the practice tells us simple things: practice Reiki, contemplate
upon the Gokai, and that which is really important for your life
will come to you when you're ready to accept it.
That is why this book shows you only the techniques, the
information about the (potential) roots of Reiki practice, historical
knowledge and it provides you with some basic understanding of
general spiritual growth. This book tries not to provide you with
5
Petter, F. A., This is Reiki.

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ethical tips and stuff. You can seek specific inspirations or wise
quotes in other sources, or by living among people. Reiki can show
you only that which is already within you and there are great
inspirations, life tips and suggestions there, as well as the reasons
why your life is unsuccessful once these reasons are recognized
and healed, your life shall change for better.
Understanding Reiki
A person who wish to discover what Reiki really is, must
integrate two archetypes within himself or herself. The first
archetype is the image of an European student of secret teaching,
who sits among books, notes, covered by a dim light of candles,
who takes great effort in understanding the sense of things. A Reiki
practitioner must be like this student of secrets: study books,
tomes, articles, notes and expand his or hers knowledge in any way
possible. A person that stops gaining knowledge may never
become a Reiki master. But this is just the beginning because at
some point, a different archetype must take the place of the first
one.
This second archetype is the image of an Eastern wise man who
meditates and seeks answers through various esoteric practices, 6
which means inner practices he seeks answers in his inner self,
and not in the books. By the inner practice of Reiki, the
practitioner is capable of integrating the forces of earth and heaven
in his or hers own heart, thus opening the doors leading to
enlightenment. Only through personal experience the practitioner
can understand the knowledge gained from books.
The work you're reading right now is one of the many steps that
lead to integrating the first archetype into your own life. This book
is meant to provide you with knowledge and direct you further to
6 Greek esterikos inner, on the inside.
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by Nathaniel
more advanced sources of knowledge. But only if you take this

book to a practical level, through personal experience and
realization of the second archetype, you can fully understand the
wisdom of that which became a part of your Reiki experience.
Thus, do not forget to practice Reiki, because in reality you are the
only person that can heal your own life.
***
So far for the introduction. Let's move to a more important
aspect of defining that which we call healing and spiritual
growth. In addition, I will explain some common elements of
spiritual practice, that may become a part of your life once you
begin to work with Reiki.
Self-Healing and Personal Growth Defined

We should define the terms of self-healing and personal growth
in the context of practicing Reiki. Basically, this process of
definition is going to be explored through the next couple of
chapters, because we must discuss a bit of history, but also a bit of
ideas and concepts that often become a part of Reiki practitioner's
life and experience. Only then we can understand many aspects of
the Reiki practice itself.
In the entire process of self-healing and healing in general we do
not talk about the idea of Western medicine, but about the healing
as the process of bringing harmony back with yourself and
harmony with the outside world. The practice of Reiki is not
focused on healing diseases, but on brining unity back with
ourselves that with everything that surrounds us. The regression of
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the illness becomes merely a side effect of such spiritual healing.

Because we talk about healing in the primal and essential meaning
of this word. The shamans and healers of multiple traditions agree
on the basic idea of what healing is about. A healer and writer,
Galsan Tschinag, said:
Healing is the process of bringing order to the way we
think, to the way we perceive the world.7
Based on the knowledge of healers from all around the world,
Geseko von Lupke says:
According to shamans and healers, the illness is the
disharmony of forces that exist in the person and in the
cosmos. In healthy people, these forces work and act
together in a correct way. We become ill when these life
forces cannot flow through us undisrupted.
This disharmony makes negative and disharmonious
energies settle in our body and spirit. The energies take
control and become visible as the symptoms of the illness.
The task of the healer is all about getting rid of those
negative energies, get rid of the energetic blockages and
bring harmony back to the physical body. () The
shamans () approach this energy, this state, this spirit,
with great compassion.
()
It is passed onto the ill person that he or she is
responsible for the loss of the harmony in his or hers body.
Thus, he or she is solely responsible for bringing harmony
back. Once the person begins to live in agreement with his
7
Lupke, G. von, Dawna mdro na nowe czasy, p. 114.

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by Nathaniel
or hers goals, hopes and needs the person regains health.

If these needs, hopes and goals are not lived by, the person
gets ill. This definition is similar to the definition made by
the World Health Organization, according to which health
is a state of complete physical, psychological and social
well-being of a person, and it's not merely a lack of
illness.8
Later on, we read:
Shamanic healing is about renewing the contact on
both the inner and outer level with the Nature and the
soul. () [Shamans] make visible the things that were
invisible. The process of healing is about brining to light
the things that were covered by darkness.9
Of course, the Reiki practitioner is not a shaman. He do not
perceive, like shamans and healers often do, the illness as a result
of acts made by malicious spirits. Still, perhaps because of the
archetypal understanding, even the Reiki practitioner recognize
illness, both the physical and mental one, as a disruption in the
inner and outer harmony. Healing is the process of creating
harmony between the elements of the microcosm and macrocosm.
From the perspective of Reiki, what we see is the process of
integration of the Three Diamonds: of the Earth, Heaven and
Heart. It is this process that occurs in Reiki practitioner as a result
of personal practice. It also occurs in the person that benefits from
regular Reiki treatments, although in a lower scale.
This integration, thus the return of harmony, is visible on many
8
Ibidem, p. 35-37
Ibidem, p. 40
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levels, starting with smaller things like creating harmony in our

diet or work, through the psychological elements like the
integration of the unconscious mind, that is healing of emotions
and memories (the Jungian Shadow), up to the higher aspects of
spirituality, finding our own individual spiritual path or even our
final destiny.
Mikao Usui created the method of Reiki, so that this method can
help every person rediscover what a human being actually is. Selfhealing in case of Reiki, that is a process of personal growth, is a
process of rediscovering our true nature let's call it the state of
primal humanity, or the Buddha's Nature. This harmonious
Buddha's Nature is a part of every person. The purpose of spiritual
practices is to help every individual person rediscover this nature
and integrate it into this person's daily life, on the physical,
emotional/mental and spiritual level. In the practice of Reiki, the
Three Diamonds are symbolically showed in the Kanji Reiki the
symbol of the method through the tree squares in the Rei symbol.
Traditionally, these squares represent hungry mouths of people. In
the context of Reiki, it's the spiritual food that we're talking about,
a food for those three levels the spiritual, emotional/mental and
physical. That's what I'm referring to in this book, the three
diamonds: of Earth (physical), Heaven (emotional/mental) and
Heart (spiritual)
In the context of the Reiki practice, self-healing is a process of
brining serenity and unity with ourselves and our environment
through the use of multiple techniques. The disappearance of
physical illness is merely a side effect of healing of our
unconscious mind and human soul. A person that heals his soul,
will experience, physical health, abundance and prosperity, as well
as happiness that comes with self-realization.
Now that we understand what healing is (in short) and how we
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by Nathaniel
can define personal growth (that's the process of self-healing), we

can move on and see what are the roots of Reiki method.
East and West The Insights

To understand the practice of Reiki better, you can familiarize
yourself with geographical and cultural roots of the discussed
method. It's obvious that the method itself originates from Japan.
The entire Far East is covered by a mysterious mist and romantic
mystery, as presented in the Western society. Neither the
globalization neither the fact that a lot of our gadgets has been
made there, helps us dispel this mist.
Japan is dominated by an animistic religion of Shinto. It's a
country, in which everything that exists is considered to be sacred
at least this is the perspective of the elders, before the civilized
West came to Japan. We may distinguish two elements of the fall
of Shinto in Japan first when the era of Meiji emperor came to
be, and then after the II World War, when the economical boom
became more important that the environment or the culture of
Japan. After the II World War, the importance of Shinto faded
away due to the reforms made by the allied occupational forces.
Today, the reborn of some sacred land ideas can be seen in the
growing ecological movement or food cooperatives. 10 Although we
won't experience the Japan as Mikao Usui experienced it during
his life those 100 years ago, the memory of the old Japan is alive.
Japan is a country of complex etiquette, one which would be
considered too complex and too rigid according to Western
standards. It's also a country heavily influenced by Buddhism.
The culture of the Far East can be characterized with many
things one of these things, that is very important to us, is the
10 Hall, J.W., Japonia od czasw najdawniejszych do dzisiaj, p. 290.
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tendency for introspection, so popular in Japan. This tendency,

slowly pushed away by the Western culture, is the very first thing
that makes us wonder deeply about the nature of the system of
Reiki.
D.T. Suzuki, in one of his lectures, makes a clear distinction
between the members of the Western and Eastern cultures. The
members of the Western cultures can be characterized with more
logical, scientific approach to life, and with an analytical mind,
that must rethink everything from an intellectual perspective.
Rationality, logic and intellect, those are the things that govern the
mind of the Western man, who constantly experience a state of
separation from the Nature. The man of the West is not a part of
nature in his own eyes he is the lord and researcher of the Nature,
ready to spread destruction in order to make a vivisection and learn
the ways the World operates. Compared to this, the man of the East
is an integral part of Nature he feels as a part of Nature. He
rarely analyze the World around him and is not a subject to chaotic
influence of the intellect. He observes, he is, he experiences
things through intuition, and directs his focus towards inner self.
He does not destroys the Nature, but contemplates it. 11 He seeks
answers to great questions within himself, and not in the outside
realm. Reiki is best perceived through this Eastern perspective
through the states of intuition, directing focus towards the inner
self, and the feeling of connection to the entire World. Reiki
suggests that the answers to the outer questions can be found in the
inner world of our heart and mind. In the practice of Reiki, due to
the nature of this method and the Reiki energy, we must place the
Western rationality aside and we must trust our own heart and
intuition.
11 De Martino, R., Fromm, E., Suzuki, D. T., Buddyzm zen i psychoanaliza, p.
11-21.
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Years ago, I used to observe discussions about the modern

spiritual paths of the man of the West. The problem often pointed
out by the Elders was too blind approach to spirituality as
presented by the New Age movement. In this approach, everyone
can take anything from any spiritual path, anything that fits this
person's point of view without thinking about his or hers choice.
The wise Elders said that it may be difficult to understand the
specific spiritual path if we won't study its roots and complexity, or
the cultural context of this spiritual path.
It took me many years to understand that there was great wisdom
in the words of Elders. By walking the path of Reiki, one day I
understood that the Elders were right it's very important to
understand the cultural context of the spiritual practice in order to
understand it better, especially if we wish to make this practice a
part of our daily life. In case of this book, in order to really
understand Reiki and benefit from this practice, we must
understand a few things: the cultural context of Buddhism, Taoism
and Shinto, as well as the culture of Japan, even in its short form.
In the old Japan, a man was characterized by introspection
constant readiness and willingness to look into his own heart and
mind. This element of Japanese culture was present for many
hundreds of years, and it's one of the elements of the cultural
context of Reiki, that cannot be forgotten. This context tells us one
thing if we want to benefit greatly from the practice of Reiki, we
must turn out attention to our own inner self. Can we do anything
else if we're practicing something that originates from such
introvert culture?
Somebody may wish to run towards non-esoteric practice and
use Reiki in form of treatments on others, considering Reiki as a
form of therapy. This is a great way to use Reiki and it's worthy to
continue this path, but one of the unwritten rules of Reiki says:
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first, heal yourself. On the path of Reiki, the esoteric practice is the
most important aspect. The word esoteric originates from Greek
esterikos that can be translated as focused inward. In Reiki,
focus on your inner self, the process of introspection, is the most
important thing this is the practice of self-healing.
And this is the practice of inner growth.
Reiki as a Path of Inner Growth

Reiki is not a religion but it can become an individual life
ideology, as well as individual spiritual path. While religion can be
characterized with heaving a priest class, central deity (or deities),
and a dogmatic collection of practices, the spiritual path on the
other hand is based solely on personal experiences, that may or
may not confirm the theoretical knowledge provided by books.
Some sources say that Mikao Usui wished to create an universal
method of healing and inner growth, 12 while other sources say that
Usui went to Mount Kurama with sole purpose of preparing
himself for death and reborn in the Buddhist paradise. 13 Finally,
more eclectic sources merge these two theories together and say
that Usui went to Mount Kurama with a purpose of experiencing
the whole of human experience and discovering his own Buddha's
Nature. In case he would not be successful, he was prepared to die
this was his final goal on a long path of spiritual practice and
studies become enlighten or die.
In result, thanks to his practices and mystical satori, Mikao Usui
achieved his goal, developed an universal method of self-healing
and spiritual growth this method turned out to be directly
disconnected to all other religions or ideologies. That said, Mikao
12 Stiene, B., Stiene F., Japanese Art of Reiki, p. 7.
13 Petter, F. A., This is Reiki.
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by Nathaniel
Usui was a Buddhist and while creating the system of Reiki, he

kept the Buddhist ideals in his mind the ideals of compassion for
all living beings, an ideal popular in the path of Mahayana
Buddhism and its Bodhisattva concept. Frans Petter writes:
Practicing Reiki Ryoho means to wish happiness, health
and wellbeing to all beings.14
When, due to Reiki practice, you will awake the great
compassion for all living beings, you understand the true power of
Reiki. Compassion in the concept of Buddhism is one of the
cultural ideas that are our companion on the path of Usui Shiki
Ryoho Reiki.
The Falls on the Path of Self-Healing
Before I proceed with Compassion, I wish to discuss one of the
primary concepts in Buddhism, that have a great meaning for a
Reiki practitioner. I remind you that, like so often in Reiki, this
concept is, in its essence, neutral and universal. This concept refers
to a process of spiritual growth. It was nicely explained by
Sangharakszita in his book, What is Dharma?15
This process goes like this: first, we define the intention of
growth and development (self-healing), and then we begin the
practice, for example: meditation. Through meditation, we can
reach many wonderful mental and spiritual states of mind, in
which we can remain for minutes, hours or even weeks. But then,
we experience a sudden fall we go back to what our life looked
like before spiritual growth we go back to things that kicked us
out from the state of harmony. This process of falling on the path
14 Ibidem, p. 50.
15 Sangharakszita, Czym jest Dharma? Podstawy nauki Buddy, p. 141-147.
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of spiritual growth is quite normal, because the spiritual practice,

whatever it is, is merely a tool that helps us reach a certain point.
Thus, do not be surprised if, after many months, or even years of
practicing Reiki, suddenly you fall down and the things, which
you wished to heal, suddenly return. Do not blame yourself and do
not think that you're someone worse than others, because you do
not get the results others get. Perhaps those others do not talk
loudly about their falls and mistakes?
The path of spiritual growth is a path of constant rise and fall. Be
aware of this fact and do not get disappointed. Remember that the
true strength of a human being is not the fact that the man never
falls the strength is in our ability to get up from every fall. Each
time you fall on the path of spirituality, get up! Go back to
practicing, if you have experienced results in the past. If you see
the results, then keep practicing and do not worry if you fail from
time to time this is especially important for the practitioners of
the second and third Reiki degree, Okuden and Shinpiden
respectfully.
Such constant falling on the spiritual path and returns of things
we thought were already healed, all of this has a meaning. The
meaning is to show us that we haven't healed something entirely.
Each time a problem returns is an opportunity to heal a bit more of
it, understand and experience it a bit more, once again. If we've
been healing the problem long enough, through multiple returns of
the problem, this problem gets healed entire at last the results
become permanent, as our understanding and awareness of things
become clear.
Of course, we do not wish for our path of self-healing to lead to
constant failures. The Buddhist teachings explain that failures
come to an end when, thanks to spiritual practice, we develop our
inner Wisdom. Wisdom, as understood by Buddhism, is a constant
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by Nathaniel
awareness of reality and of Unconditioned. 16 It's about looking

through the veil and noticing the real causes or events and
experiences. In Reiki practice, we manifest this state of awareness
step by step, slowly and gently. By understanding the mechanisms
that condition our experiences, we begin to accept both the
experiences and the mechanisms. Furthermore, we accept our inner
Shadow, which I will discuss later in this book. Also, we develop
our individual wisdom and the ability to see the mechanisms
leading to life events. This is a path towards a place, in which we
no longer fall on the path of spirituality.
If you practice Reiki long enough, with pure intentions and open
heart, then you will develop your inner wisdom. This wisdom will
protect you against falling on the path of self-healing, and this
healing state will be experienced by you more often and for longer
periods of time in more and more aspects of your life.
Reiki is a Mean Leading to a Goal
Reiki is a practice that leads to harmony, health and happiness,
and maybe even to the final enlightenment. I emphasize the word
path, because Reiki is not the goal in itself. When you work with
Reiki only for the purpose of working with Reiki, the practice of
this method leads you nowhere. Just like this, the Buddhist
Dharma is not a goal in itself, but it's a path that leads to the final
goal enlightenment. When you study the Buddhism, you may
encounter a story of a raft. The raft is meant to cross water. It's the
ultimate and only purpose of the raft. The Dharma is like a raft.
Some people begin to build walls on the raft, add furniture,
decorate it. Other people worship the raft, but never use it to cross
the water. Even more people criticize that the raft is not strong
16 Ibidem
- 26 -
enough.17 Very similar approach can be noticed on the path of

Reiki. Reiki is, too, like a raft it's a mean that helps us achieve a
goal, but Reiki is not a goal by itself. There's also a Japanese tale
of a finger pointing to the moon it's not the finger that's
important here. It only points the goal once the glow of the moon
is noticed, it becomes far more important that the finger itself.
Do not focus on the Reiki raft too much use this method to
achieve happiness if you wish it. And remember that Buddha used
to say that we should practice only things that bring us real,
positive results. If something gives you no results, then there's no
reason to practice it. In the Kalama Sutra we generally read:
Have trust in things, which you learned to be true after
long search; have trust in things, that you know they bring
wellbeing to you and to others.18
Your belief in the practice should be based only upon your own
experience, and not on the words of other practitioners or teachers.
If Reiki gives you positive results, then keep practicing. If Reiki
gives you no positive results even if you've been practicing
intensively for a long time, then perhaps it's time to give up this
path. Even if every person can learn Reiki, this method won't be
suitable for everyone. It's because every person is different and
unique. Some people will prefer Reiki, other people will prefer
Buddhist path, and others will prefer psychotherapy or a personal
development coach. Don't stick forcefully to something that gives
you no results.
One more tip for your personal growth. Remember that Reiki
will guide you in accordance with your own nature. There are not
17 Ibidem
18 http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wheel008.html
- 27 -
by Nathaniel
two practitioners that are exactly alike. We're all different. Each
Reiki practitioner feels the energy differently, experience the
results of Reiki differently and the process of healing and growth
of this person is unique. Buddha said that when rain falls upon a
seed of a palm, a palm shall grow. If a rain falls on the seed of a
flower, a flower will grow. But a flower will never become a palm,
and the palm will never become a flower. 19 Each Reiki practitioner
will grow according to his or hers own nature.
Every Reiki practitioner will heal things with his own unique
means. Every person will practice differently, and every person
will understand Reiki differently. Even more, every person will
have a unique pace of self-healing. Do not try to resemble other
practitioners. Discover yourself and let Reiki lead you on your
own, individual path, in accordance to your own needs this will
give you the best results. This is the only way in which Reiki will
lead you to the state of harmony, unity and happiness.
Spiritual Growth and its Biggest Enemy the Ego
Let's now discuss a very important problem that may trouble you
on your path of self-healing. I used to say that ego is needed for
every person, but only for a time. Before the time to get rid of our
ego comes, this ego helps us defend ourselves against
manipulation and treachery from the outside world, because it
makes us question that, which we find on the path of our own inner
growth. Just like everything else, the ego, too, has its light and
dark side. The good side is the one that ask questions and makes us
wonder and think, question everything that we're about to step into.
The bad side is the one that tries to protect itself. Yes, ego tries to
protect its very own existence, because it knows, that at some point
of spiritual growth, it becomes needless for the person and must
19 Sangharakszita, Czym jest Dharma? Podstawy nauki Buddy, p. 44-45.
- 28 -
disappear for good.

And ego (its dark side) can find awful ways to trouble us on our
path it can manipulate us in such ways that we won't even notice
that we have wondered away from the path of true inner growth
this often happens to people who fall into a trap of New Age
movement.
A Buddhist teacher, Sogyal Rinpoche, wrote this about the nature
of our ego:
The reason to end the absolute tyranny of the ego is the
reason that we enter the path of spiritual growth.
()
At first, as we first become fascinated by the spiritual
path and the possibilities it offers us, that it present to us,
our ego may try to encourage us, whispering: This is
wonderful, beautiful. At last, it's something for you! These
teachings are great!
()
But as soon as we enter [specific time] of spiritual
growth and the teachings we study will finally reveal their
deep meaning to us, inevitably we face the truth about
ourselves. When the ego is truly revealed and sensitive
areas of ourselves become apparent, problems are obvious
to follow. It's like a mirror appears in front of us and we
can't turn our eyes away. () We begin to fight it [the truth
about ourselves] because we hate that which we see in this
mirror.
() And where's the ego? It stands faithfully on our side
and whispers: You're right, this is outrageous and
unbearable. Give up this whole spiritual growth thing.
()
- 29 -
by Nathaniel
The ego is happy to see as we fall into its own trap. For
the pain, loneliness and problems we face, it cast blame
upon the teachings and the teachers. The final weapon of
the ego is to point the finger on the teacher and his
students, whispering: I don't think so anyone here lives by
the teachings!20
This process is not easy. First, we are being encouraged to walk
the path of spiritual growth. In the context of Reiki, the teachers
promise us health, harmony, happiness, love, wonderful business,
inner peace and things like that. At first, everything is wonderful,
but then doubt comes into play. Because at some point, we begin
to see the truth about ourselves, and this truth is often unpleasant
and we don't like it. But know that what happens here is merely the
beginning of the awareness of our inner Shadow. Here we stand on
the crossroads we can either accept the truth about ourselves and
self-heal ourselves; or we can deny this truth, give up the Reiki
practice and our own inner growth.
But if you do continue the [spiritual growth] practice and
you enter deeper states of meditation, slowly you realize
that you became a victim of the ego's promises: false hopes
and false fears.21
Christian mysticism in the European culture calls such crisis, as
explained above the doubt that appears by the name of dark
night of the soul. This experience is similar to the falls on the path
of spiritual growth, too. From time to time, such repetitive spiritual
crisis may appear in your life, during which you will doubt your
20 Rinpocze, S., Tybetaska Ksiga ycia i Umierania, p. 115-116.
21 Ibidem
- 30 -
own spiritual progress, the value of the practice itself, or the point
of spiritual teachings. At the same time, from the depths of your
unconsciousness, fears and negative thoughts and bad memories or
beliefs may emerge. Such crisis may last for days, weeks, months
or even years.
When this happens, the best thing to do is to take a break from
spiritual matters, do yourself spiritual vacations, and then return to
your practice with new motivation and fresh positive approach,
and this will give you results the falls, and crisis will appear less
often, and you will notice more and more positive effects of the
practice in your daily life.
It's worth to mention how does the spiritual path looks like,
according to Buddhist teachings. I mention this because a similar
mechanisms can be seen in other schools of spiritual thought. It's
all about understanding that ups and downs on the path of spiritual
development are quite normal and that they are a tool that polish a
diamond of our soul. Recognizing the ups and downs makes us
strengthen ourselves in our practice, so that in result we won't lose
hope because of the downs that are part of everyone's experience.
At some point of spiritual growth, we pass over a critical point
a point below which we will never fall again. And even if the
worse moments will still appear, we will continue to walk forward
and grow further. Remember that even on the path of Reiki, the
dark night of the soul may appear a few times, but after some
time, even this experience will be gone for good.
Unfortunately, sometimes it may happen that a person tries to
deny the truth about himself or herself and gives up the spiritual
teachings or the Reiki practice (as a path), but won't deny the
simple aspect of doing Reiki treatments. This is the time when
Reiki becomes merely a commercial practice, meant for initiating
others, offering workshops and doing treatments all for money.
- 31 -
by Nathaniel
But behind such business offer we see no pure heart or honest

intentions those can be developed only through regular and
honest spiritual practice. If you feel like you're falling into a trap of
business spirituality, then do a step backwards and look closely
upon your own intentions.
Also, be careful with your own ego and watch it closely, as it
may set traps on your path, just as Sogyal Rinpoche explained.
Reiki is an Individual Practice
Buddha said:
Trust the advices of the teacher, and not on the teacher's
personality.
Trust the meanings of teachings, and not on the mere
words.
Trust the deeper meaning, and not the outside meaning.
Trust the wise mind, and not the ordinary, judging mind.22
In this quote, we can find words of wisdom for a Reiki
practitioner. Trust the knowledge that is shared with you by the
Reiki teacher, instead of relying on the teacher's personality, that
never defines the practice itself. Each teacher is different and you
should not perceive Reiki through this teacher's lifestyle. Your own
personality is different. Rely on the meaning of Reiki knowledge,
and not on the words that are used to share this knowledge.
Different sources use different words, names and terms, but a
sensible Reiki practitioner will be determined to reach the deeper
and real meaning that is hidden behind the mere terms and words.
Explore the knowledge that you're beginning to comprehend, in
order to comprehend it even more. That which seems clear at first,
22 Ibidem
- 32 -
often turns out to have a second, much deeper meaning it's

normal for the Reiki practice.
It's worth to mention a bit about modern New Age spirituality
that often is encountered by Reiki practitioners. If you wish, Reiki
can become your sole spiritual path and as such, it will be
beneficial enough for you. That said, don't try to jump from one
practice to another, at least don't do so too soon. If you've chosen
Reiki as your practical path, then walk this path. If this method
seems not beneficial to you at the moment, it may mean that you're
experiencing a normal spiritual crisis and you simply need to find
more strength.
Sogyal Rinpoche says about similar experiences:
() Do not walk into a trap of something that I observe
all the time in the Western world. I call it a mall
mentality - when people jump from one teacher to
another, from one teachings to other teachings, with no
continuity or real, serious devotion to a specific practice.
Nearly all great masters of spiritual traditions agree to the
fact that the best to do is to master a single path, a single
road leading to truth, and following with you all your heart
and mind a single spiritual tradition till the very end of
your spiritual journey, while remaining open and respectful
for the wisdom of others. In Tibet, we used to say: by
knowing one, you know them all. A popular perspective
these days that says that we can remain open multiple
doors and we should not devote ourselves to anything
entirely, is one of the greatest illusions of our time it's a
trick of our ego, one of the strongest tricks that our ego
throws at us so that it can hinder our spiritual progress.
If you're still looking for something, looking becomes an
- 33 -
by Nathaniel
obsession that turns you into a tourist left out of breath, a

tourist that never reaches any goal at all. 23
Sogyal Rinpoche continues to explain that it's not about closing
yourself in a cage and limiting your insights into the spiritual
world. Quite the opposite. The advice comes from a pure
compassion and it's meant to make you remain focused on a single
path, so that no matter what the world throws at you, you will not
give up the path.
No matter what doesn't mean, of course, that you have to keep
walking the Reiki path at all costs. The positive results of Reiki
can bee seen right away after a few weeks of practice and
definitely after a few months of practice. If you're honest with
yourself and you truly wish to heal your life and make it better,
then the results will become reality. But if there are no results, eve
if you've been practicing honestly and on regular basis, then it may
mean that Reiki is not a method meant for you, or that you have no
honest intentions for yourself. You need to ask yourself do you
truly wish to be healed?
And what if you will have doubts regarding your own
experiences and positive results of Reiki? First, keep in mind that
doubts are good, because they make you question your intentions,
actions and effectiveness of the practice all the time. But more than
that, doubts are normal on every single path of spiritual growth.
Unless we become enlightened, doubts will be experienced
surely, because creating chaos and doubt is what an unenlightened
mind usually do. The only way to deal with doubts is to try not to
embrace the doubt or to suppress it. 24 Thus, do not suppress the
doubts, and do not embrace the doubt, just let it go. Sogyal
23 Ibidem
24 Ibidem
- 34 -
Rinpoche says that doubts won't go away right away and they
won't go away just by themselves. They will go away with time, as
a result of regular practice. To have doubts on the path of Reiki is
normal. We may even say that having doubts is a privilege of an
unenlightened mind.
Do not be afraid of doubts. Let each and every single doubt
become an opportunity to contemplate upon your own life, your
intentions, dreams, goals and perception of reality.
Teachers, Masters and Lineage
The last thing that I wish to discuss in this chapter is the matter
of teachers, masters and lineage. I've met with opinions that a
Reiki lineage is something pointless and useless, or even
something that is merely embracing the teacher's ego. But as it
turns out, quite often it is the lineage that can tells us what kind of
teacher we're dealing with.
Sogyal Rinpoche says:
People who encounter the Tibetan Buddhism for the first
time, wonder often why do we embrace the matter of
lineage so greatly. Well, this lineage is one of the greatest
insurance that we have, that insure the authenticity and
clarity of the teachings. People know who is their teacher,
by knowing the teacher's teacher. Thus, it's not about
prevailing so old archaic ritual traditions, but about the
teachings that come from heart to heart, from mind to
mind, originating from the pure wisdom and effective
teachings associated with it.25
I wish to point out an interesting detail often, on the lineage
25 Ibidem (author's translation)
- 35 -
by Nathaniel
some names can be lost and forgotten many years after the lineage
was continued by the teacher's students. Often, the practices can be
lost and recreated over time. It's worth to look what kind of
practices were lost by whom and what practices were rediscovered
by whom. The lineage is a story of ups and downs, the journey
towards enlightenment, during which every teacher has added
something on his own. Such lineage shows what teachers did in the
past some got rid of things, some added things, and others
repaired things.
This leads us to another issue who is a Reiki teacher?
Personally, I believe that a teacher is just a normal Reiki
practitioner. And this practitioner becomes a teacher only for a
time necessary to teach someone else and share the knowledge. If
he or she is not running a class or workshop, the the person should
act like a normal, ordinary Reiki practitioner. The person should be
friendly, nice and helpful, even if he or she is not a perfect spiritual
master and many of Reiki teachers are not really spiritual
masters, even if they share the Reiki knowledge in professional
way.
One of the Healing Tao teachers, Roman Fierfas, said once
during one of his lectures:
The role of the teacher is not to pass the power. The role
of the teacher is to help the student discover the power that
the student already has inside.
This is how the Reiki teacher should act he should be showing,
in a friendly way, to others the ways how people can discover the
power on their own, a power they already have inside of them. And
what about Reiki masters? This is even simpler. Despite the
amount of titles on the certificates, in reality there is only one
- 36 -
master it's Reiki. And there's only one student it's you. There is
nothing else.
You've reached the end of free sample.

If you wish to read the entire book, you can purchase it as
paperback directly on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Reiki-Path-Three-DiamondsSpiritual/dp/8364699121
Kindle edition is available as well:
http://www.amazon.com/Reiki-Three-Diamonds-SpiritualHarmony-ebook/dp/B015FX0O70/
EPUB is available on Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Nathaniel_Reiki_
The_Path_of_Three_Diamonds?id=PjmNCgAAQBAJ
- 37 -
by Nathaniel
- 38 -

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