Shibumi: Blog http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/ en jane@ihreiki.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-02T00:52:19+00:00 Mystery and Mastery http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/mystery_and_mastery/ http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/mystery_and_mastery/#When:23:52:19Z At this time last year, I decided to join an organization called Shibumi International Reiki Association. This group was developed by Frans and Bronwen Stiene, who run the International House of Reiki and teach Usui Reiki Ryôhô, which is one of the Reiki lineages I am trained in. As a member, in addition to upholding the Vision, Mission and Philosophy of Shibumi, I also agreed to uphold their Codes of Practice, which includes, among a great many other things, the requirement that members not use the term Reiki Master. As the Shibumi website puts it, “The term Reiki Master is not utilized by Shibumi members due to the understanding that one does not master Reiki (spiritual energy).”

]]> 2012-02-01T23:52:19+00:00 Shugendō http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/shugend/ http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/shugend/#When:02:57:16Z Shugendō (also spelled Shugendo) can be loosely translated as “path of training to achieve spiritual powers.” Shugendō is an important Kami-Buddha combinatory sect that blends pre-Buddhist mountain worship, Kannabi Shinkō 神奈備信仰 (the idea that mountains are the home of the dead and of agricultural spirits), shamanistic beliefs, animism, ascetic practices, Chinese Yin-Yang mysticism and Taoist magic, and the rituals and spells of Esoteric (Tantric) Buddhism in the hope of achieving magical skills, medical powers, and long life.

]]> 2011-07-02T02:57:16+00:00 Buddhism in the West http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/buddhism_in_the_west/ http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/buddhism_in_the_west/#When:02:51:22Z Today Buddhism and Daoism, in forms often quite different from Asian origins, are paths that “westerners” choose to follow. Zen, Tantric Buddhism, and Daoism as spiritual practice in western languages and cultures, are quite different from Asian origins. And, indeed, so it must be, to succeed in any context. The American and European fascination with “Zen sitting” is simply not found in Asia. Zen sitting as a disciplined practice is only used in the training of novice monks in Japan.

]]> 2011-07-02T02:51:22+00:00 More Shugendo and Reiki http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/more_shugendo_and_reiki/ http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/more_shugendo_and_reiki/#When:03:24:26Z Tokyo, Japan—Urban dwellers, looking for something missing from the day-to-day grind of their working lives, are literally heading to the mountains to reconnect with nature and find spiritual fulfillment.
They are devotees of Shugendo, a religion based on ancient Japanese mountain worship that incorporates aspects of Buddhism, Shinto and other faiths.

Among the followers is a 33-year-old man from Tokyo who works weekdays as a sales representative. On his days off, he heads for the mountains, donning a traditional outfit, complete with a conch-shell horn and straw sandals.

He is a yamabushi, a mountain priest trainee. His grueling training regime includes a discipline called nyubu, which involves walking steep mountain paths for a few days while visiting sacred sites and worshipping gods and Buddha. He has a religious name: Shinanobo Zuiryu.

]]> 2010-09-01T03:24:26+00:00 Shugendo DVD “Where Mountains Fly” http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/shugendo_dvd_where_mountains_fly/ http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/shugendo_dvd_where_mountains_fly/#When:23:06:45Z « In the middle of the night, on the 19th day of the 8th month of the 3rd year of the Sôchô era, the sky was filled with a multitude of sounds. The country was shaken as under a powerful earthquake. This mountain arrived through the air, and came down from the sky to rest in our country. Ômine is the place where it landed, and stopped. Ômine is a part of the South-Eastern corner of the country in which Buddha was born. It broke off from the South-Western part of the Diamond grotto on the Vulture Peak.
After that, nothing is known. »

In 538 AD, a mountain flew over from India to land in Japan. The arrival of Mt Ômine in the Kii peninsula is a metaphor for the introduction of Buddhism to Japan. The DVD “Where Mountains Fly” takes you deep into Japanese sacred mountains by way of two narratives: a legend dating back to the 12th c. AD, and contemporary religious practices in the mountains.

]]> 2010-08-31T23:06:45+00:00 Japanese Koan on Compassion http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/japanese_koan_on_compassion/ http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/japanese_koan_on_compassion/#When:06:47:40Z Compassion is one of the Reiki precepts.

We really require great wisdom to be truly compassionate and the system of Reiki gives you the tools to delve into that compassionate space through the practice of its five elements. Each situation we encounter will require a different compassion - there is not one way, but many - just as all humans are unique and work in their own individual ways.

Have a read of this Japanese koan and see what you think about this as a form of compassion.. or is it? Koans are meant to be contemplated and meditated upon. We suggest you try it.

]]> 2010-06-19T06:47:40+00:00 Finding Stillness http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/finding_stillness/ http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/finding_stillness/#When:23:53:46Z Being a Reiki practitioner, my day-to-day practice includes traditional Japanese breathing techniques and other forms of meditation.

I sometimes find the discipline of a daily practice challenging and am always grateful when new ways of maintaining this practice unfold.
In my home there are many animals including one cat and many fishes. My partner is a fish enthusiast and so keeps a number of aquariums exquisitely stocked for our viewing pleasure. The tanks are filled with an amazing variety of plant-life and Amazonian fish species. In my mind, the tanks themselves are more like aquatic gardens.

]]> 2010-06-03T23:53:46+00:00 Tendai Calligraphy http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/tendai_calligraphy/ http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/tendai_calligraphy/#When:23:38:28Z Recently I attended a Tendai Symposium in San Francisco where one of the top Japanese calligraphic artist gave a demonstration - his name is Houkai Shibayama (Senkei) and he is considered to be a “living legend” in Japan. It was amazing to see this gentle man creating such powerful work with his brushstrokes.

The style of calligraphy is called Shousho, a writing style with few characters, in which you can find its symbolic nature.

]]> 2010-05-18T23:38:28+00:00 What does it mean “to live”? http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/what_does_it_mean_to_live/ http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/what_does_it_mean_to_live/#When:07:02:08Z What is it ‘to live’?

The movie “Peace on Wheels - IKIRU (To Live)” is a reflection on peace and living through the world of Hiroko Kimura, artist, poet and activist. Having un

I love the earth,
I love people,
and I love myself.

And another poem that maybe those in the Reiki world can relate directly to:

When I eased nature all alone
For the first time in my life,
The word “impossible”
Went out of my vocabulary.

From Hiroku’s experience it is possible to see that we must never feel limited by our bodies. By connecting to the world around us we can truly live.

]]> 2010-05-01T07:02:08+00:00 Shugendo Now & the System of Reiki http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/shugendo_now_the_system_of_reiki/ http://www.shibumireiki.org/index.php/blog/article/shugendo_now_the_system_of_reiki/#When:04:32:09Z If you’re interested in finding out more about the history of the system of Reiki and its influences then take a read of this article by the International House of Reiki.

It explains a little about the relationship between the system of Reiki and Shugendo as well as what Shugendo is.

Then it provides links to all sorts of things Shugendo as well as the trailer to a beautiful new movie called Shugendo Now.

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