Did Hawayo Takata lie about Reiki?
September 12, 2026
Strictly, the precepts are one of the main foundations of the system of Reiki from a Japanese perspective. Meditation is how we become the precepts: contemplating the waka poetry, practising Joshin Kokyu Ho, breathing into the hara and letting awareness expand until we feel our interconnection with everything.
Is meditation the foundation of Japanese Reiki? I would say the Reiki precepts are the foundation of the system of Reiki from a Japanese perspective. But then, how do we become these precepts? How do we do that?
We can use meditation, and we can use contemplation. We can contemplate the waka, the Japanese poetry written by the Emperor, which helps us move into a space of knowing the precepts better. We can practise Joshin Kokyu Ho, breathing in and down into the hara and then expanding that energy out.
Our awareness expands out, and that teaches us that we are all interconnected. It teaches us not to be angry and not to worry; to be grateful; to be true to who we are, as a part of this universe; and to be compassionate to ourselves and to others. So meditation is certainly an important part of the Japanese system of Reiki.
The name. The practices here are meisō, 瞑想, seated meditation, and the contemplation of waka, 和歌, the short poems the association used. The precepts themselves are the gokai, 五戒.
Where it sits in the system. Meditation is an important part of the five elements, and the one that carries the first. The precepts tell you what a balanced person is like; meditation is where you practise being that.
A common misunderstanding. That meditation in the system of Reiki is an optional extra for the spiritually inclined.
Try this. Read the five precepts once, then sit for ten minutes with Joshin Kokyu Ho. Read them again afterwards and notice whether they sound different.
You might also ask: What is Joshin Kokyu Ho? · What is the morning ritual that Mikao Usui asked us to do each day? · The hidden layer of the Reiki precepts most students completely miss
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More questions answered: Reiki Questions Answered.
