The information is given out in a formal “dojo” setting. The “students” are called “doka” and come to share
experiences with each other and with the “shihan”. The “shihan” calls upon the sum of all his previous
experiences from other dojos to make his presentation. A dojo is NOT a classroom (a place where a “teacher
teaches” and “students learn”). We are not mindlessly accumulating “information”. It is not so much what
we do in the dojo but more how we do it and how we experience it such that it aids our personal development
and well-being.
We all had to learn to walk. It took time; It took effort. We stumbled and fell. We learned to balance,
to coordinate our body. We are STILL learning to walk as our bodies age. This is how one may experience
the dojo. We make a series of “journeys”; we become a “different person” or a “new person” as the result
of those “journeys”. That “new person” may now make the same journeys and re-experience them in a totally
different manner, leading to the emerging of yet another “new person”.
In the dojo we must be in “input mode”. That is, we should be using all of our senses to observe the shihan
and the interactions between doka and shihan. If a question arises in our minds we must set it aside for later.
That question puts us in "output mode" and we will be unable to focus properly on what is going on within the
dojo. We must listen and observe from the stillness of our hearts. We leave our bags and our shoes and our
overcoats outside the dojo. They represent the outside world. We enter the dojo and become part of a private
world and become one with Usui, the founder.
We focus on deepening our understanding of the Gainen, a family of three concepts that were developed by Usui and are practiced as part of the daily lives of Usui’s followers.
We perfom a number of simple practical exercises to develop mindfulness. These exercises are all based on kata, movements of the arms and legs that originated centuries ago in China and form the basis of taijiquan (Tai-Chi). These movements made their way to Japan around 2000 years ago but still retain the original Chinese form.
Bodily and spiritual cleanliness is a key part of the way the systen is practiced. We make use of misogi rituals that can involve cleansing with water (Temizu 手水) or a dry bathing technique known as kenyoku 乾浴.
There are no attunements, no symbols and no chanting of the Gainen.
In 2001, Dave King and Laurie Anne King travelled to Japan to see for themselves the country in which Usui had grown up What is an Usui Dojo?
An Usuidojo is a place where one may experience the message of Usui Mikao in the company of like-minded people.
The motto of the Usuidojo was “Unity of Self through Harmony and Balance”.
The Reiki kanji
The REI-KI kanji have origins in China. They made their way to Japan where they retained their original Chinese meaning.
Their origins and use are often misunderstood in the West. Click
here for an explanation of the structure of the kanji.
Richard Rivard's website
contains an interesting
article at that outlines the changes in Usui's system over the last 80 years.