Reiki Meditation

In most Western Reiki traditions, meditation is an accessory. Something you can do before a session if you feel like it. A nice extra. In the Japanese tradition, the opposite is true. Meditation is the foundation. No meditation, no Reiki — at least not in the depth Usui intended.

The memorial stone at Mikao Usui's grave says it without ambiguity: Asayū gasshō shite kokoro ni nenji, kuchi ni tonaeyo — "Morning and evening, fold the hands in Gasshō, meditate in the heart, and recite with the mouth." These are not suggestions. They are an instruction — embedded in the three secrets of the Shingon tradition.

Gasshō — the hands that connect everything 合掌

Gasshō is more than a greeting. When you bring your hands together at the heart, you connect the left and the right side. Yin and yang. Wisdom and method. Buddha nature and human consciousness. The hands touch — and in that contact a space arises that is neither left nor right, but the centre.

In the Reiki tradition, every practice begins with Gasshō. You sit, close your eyes, bring your hands together, and breathe. In that moment, daily life ends and the practice begins. It is a threshold — a passage from one state into another.

Jōshin Kokyū Hō — the breathing method for purifying the mind 浄心呼吸法

Jōshin Kokyū Hō 浄心呼吸法 — literally: "method of breathing for purifying the mind." This breath practice comes from the Japanese Reiki tradition and is one of the most powerful meditations Usui transmitted.

This breath practice is not a mere relaxation exercise. It works with the Hara 腹 — the energy centre considered in the Japanese tradition as the seat of life force. In Shingon Buddhism, in Zen, in the martial arts, and in Shugendō, the Hara is the anchor. Whoever feels their Hara is centred — and whoever is centred can let energy flow.

Meditation in Shingon Buddhism 三密

In the Shingon tradition there is no meditation without the three secrets — Sanmitsu 三密: body, speech, and mind. Every meditation activates all three layers at once. The body forms a mudra. The voice recites a mantra. The mind visualises a Siddham syllable or a Buddha.

This differs fundamentally from many Western forms of meditation, which are primarily oriented toward the mind — mindfulness, observation of thoughts, inner stillness. Shingon meditation involves the whole human being. The hands work. The mouth resounds. The mind sees. And when all three act together, Kaji 加持 arises — the mutual interpenetration of Buddha power and human consciousness.

The Gokai meditation — five sentences that change everything 五戒

The best-known meditation in the Reiki tradition is the recitation of the five life principles — Gokai 五戒. Usui wrote them on a calligraphy and gave the instruction to recite them morning and evening in Gasshō.

This recitation is not an affirmation in the Western sense. It is not about talking yourself into something. It is about producing an energetic state. Whoever speaks "On this very day today — do not be angry" while sitting in Gasshō and meditating in the heart simultaneously activates body, speech, and mind. The words become mantras. The posture becomes mudra. The inner focus becomes visualisation. That is Sanmitsu — wrapped in five simple sentences.

Meditation as daily practice 日課

Usui meant it literally: morning and evening. Every day. Not as an occasional exercise, but as a fixed part of life. In Japan this has a long lineage — the daily practice is called Nikka 日課, the "daily task." Monks in Shingon temples begin their day before sunrise with meditation and end it the same way.

For Shingon Reiki practice, Mark Hosak and Eileen Wiesmann recommend a simple sequence: in the morning, ten to twenty minutes — Gasshō, Jōshin Kokyū Hō, Gokai recitation. In the evening, the same. Whoever has more time can extend the practice: meditation with a Siddham syllable, mantra recitation, silent meditation. But even the basic form — five minutes of Gasshō and Gokai — changes the day.

Regularity matters more than duration. Five minutes every day is more powerful than one hour once a month. The practice builds something — like a musician who plays every day. It is not the single sitting that changes you, but the continuity.

Why meditation belongs to Shingon Reiki 根本

On the homepage of shingon-reiki.com there is a sentence: "Meditation belongs to it." That is not a marketing line — it is a fact. In many Western Reiki traditions, meditation was gradually dropped. What remained was the laying on of hands. But laying on of hands without meditation is like a tree without roots. It works for a while — but the depth is missing.

In Shingon Reiki, meditation is not offered as an optional extra, but as an integral part of every level. From day one. Because meditation is what opens the channel that the initiation has activated. It refines perception. It is what makes a practitioner shift from someone who "applies" Reiki to someone who is Reiki.