Mikao Usui and the Tendai Tradition

Which spiritual tradition did Mikao Usui actually come from? In my book Reiki in der therapeutischen Praxis I went into this question in some detail. It is said that Usui was raised in a monastery of the Tendai school in his early years and later became a Tendai lay monk. That leads directly to the Kurama mountains, where Usui had his decisive experience. In this article I'd like to explain what Tendai is and why it matters for understanding Reiki.

What is Tendai Buddhism? 天台宗

Tendai brings together a lot: the teaching of the Lotus Sutra, esoteric rituals, Zen meditation, the recitation of the name of Amida (jap.: nenbutsu) and the practice of the mountains. It's no surprise, then, that the founders of many later Japanese schools studied on Mount Hiei, among them Hōnen and Shinran of the Pure Land schools, Eisai and Dōgen of Zen, and Nichiren.

Interestingly, Tendai only became esoteric after it came to Japan, when it took over teachings of esoteric Buddhism in the early 9th century. In my book I describe it like this: in the esoteric Buddhism of the Tendai school, the teachings of mantras, mudras and Siddham (Bonji in Japanese) are combined with Zen meditation and the wisdom of the Lotus Sutra in rituals and meditations. So Usui was evidently very familiar with both Tendai and Shingon teachings, which you can also see in the Reiki symbols.

Taimitsu, the esoteric side of Tendai 台密

The esoteric tradition of Tendai is called taimitsu 台密, while that of Shingon is called tōmitsu 東密, after Tōji, the "Eastern Temple" in Kyoto. The two share a great deal: mandalas, mantras, mudras and the three mysteries of body, speech and mind. Over the centuries since Kūkai and Saichō, their teachings have influenced each other.

Anyone who practices in the Tendai tradition works with many of the same elements as in Shingon: Siddham syllables as objects of meditation, mandalas that show the order of the cosmos, mudras and mantras, which you can compare with the Japanese idea of kotodama, the power of words.

The Lotus Sutra 法華

At the heart of Tendai stands the Lotus Sutra 法華経 (jap.: Hokekyō), one of the most influential texts in the whole Buddhist world. Its central message is that all beings can become Buddhas, because Buddha nature is already in them.

In my book I describe one point I find very interesting. Usui's life principles say that they should be recited morning and evening, that is, continually. In my view this is an indication of Usui's background as a Tendai monk, because a basic idea of Tendai is that enlightenment in this very body is possible through regular practice, by means of Zen meditation and contemplation of the three mysteries. You can read more about it in the article on Usui's life principles.

Nyūga ganyū 入我我入

In meditation the practitioner connects with a Buddha, often with the Great Sun Buddha Dainichi Nyorai 大日如来, and for the moment of the practice the boundary between the two dissolves. You find this principle in both Taimitsu and Shingon. When people in Reiki talk about "being a channel" or "letting the energy flow", they describe something related, and for me it's fascinating to see how far back this idea goes.

The Kurama mountains 鞍馬

Most Reiki practitioners know the Kurama mountains as the place where Usui had his decisive experience. But what kind of place was Kurama in his time? The temple Kuramadera has a long and changing history. As I describe in my book on the Reiki symbols, it belonged to the Shingon school from 889 to 1113 and then to Tendai. Only in 1947 was the Kurama Kōkyō school founded, which took over the temple in 1949. So in Usui's lifetime Kurama was a Tendai temple.

Since Kurama is closely connected with the Tendai school and with the mountain ascetics of Shugendō, it is assumed that Usui's ascetic practice there was connected with these traditions. However, there are different sources on what exactly he practiced in the Kurama mountains, and none of them is completely certain.

Saichō and Kūkai 最澄空海

To understand Usui's background, it helps to know the two monks who brought esoteric Buddhism to Japan on a large scale: Saichō 最澄, the founder of Tendai, and Kūkai 空海, the founder of Shingon. Both sailed to China in 804 with the same embassy, and both came back with esoteric teachings.

Saichō brought back the Tiantai tradition with the Lotus Sutra at its center, while Kūkai received the complete esoteric transmission from his master Huiguo. Between the two there was cooperation and also tension. Saichō borrowed esoteric texts from Kūkai, and at one point Kūkai refused to lend him a certain commentary, because in his view these teachings could only be understood through direct transmission and practice, not from books alone.

So Tendai and Shingon are two currents of the same river. Usui seems to have come from the Tendai tradition, but the practices he drew on span both schools and, beyond them, Shugendō, Shintō and shamanic Daoism.

What this means for your practice 道

For me the Tendai connection is more than a historical detail. If you know that the idea of Buddha nature is at the heart of Usui's tradition, you can experience Reiki less as something foreign that comes from outside and more as something that is uncovered in you. And if you know nyūga ganyū, you can see Reiki as a coming together rather than a purely passive receiving.

In Shingon Reiki these roots are part of the practice. Did you know before reading this that Kurama was a Tendai temple in Usui's time?