What is the difference between Reiki I, II and Shinpiden?
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Traditionally, no. The Usui Reiki Ryoho has three levels: Shoden, Okuden and Shinpiden. Some Western forms split the third level into a Level 3 and a Level 4, and the Japanese association has at times divided Shoden and Okuden into sub-levels, but there is no Level 4 as such.
In some forms of the system, yes, there is. If you were studying some Western forms, they might teach you some things in Level 3 and then break it up, so that there is a Level 3 and a Level 4.
But traditionally, no. There was Shoden, Okuden and Shinpiden. The association in Japan did break Shoden and Okuden up into different sub-headings at different times, but there is no such thing as a Level 4 as such.
People do their own thing and create their own thing, of course. I have heard of there being a hundred levels. Maybe, maybe not. No.
The short version. Three levels, with Japanese names: Shoden, 初伝, the beginner teaching; Okuden, 奥伝, the inner teaching; Shinpiden, 神秘伝, the mystery teaching. Anything numbered 3 A, 4 or above was added later, in the West.
What to look for. If a school offers a Level 4, ask what is in it that was not in Level 3. Often the answer is the teaching part of Shinpiden, split off (with two fees being charged); sometimes it is material from another practice altogether.
A common misunderstanding. That more levels means more depth. In Japan, members spend years at Shoden and Okuden before anyone considers them as ready for Shinpiden. Depth comes from time, not from the next certificate.
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