The birth of the ethical principles of Reiki
Usui returned to his monastery but soon
decided that he wanted to take this healing into beggar city, which is in the slums of Kyoto. He
wanted to send the young ones to the monastery where they would be trained by the monks in
skills which would help them earn a living. He worked with the poor for seven years
treating many illnesses.
He began to notice familiar faces as he walked the neighborhood and learned that these were indeed some of the young people he had healed and sent to the monastery for training. They had returned to the slums because they found earning a living much harder than going out to beg.
Upon hearing this, Master Usui felt himself a great failure and left beggar city immediately. He withdrew to meditate on what had happened. He realized that although he had been successful in balancing the physical bodies of the beggars, he had not paid attention to their spiritual health. At this time he added to Reiki his five ethical precepts:
Just for today, do not
worry
Just for today, do not anger
Honor your parents, teachers, and elders
Earn your living honestly
and show gratitude to everything
Master Usui began to travel throughout Japan
teaching Reiki. He would carry a lighted torch in broad daylight to attract attention.
When people asked him why he carried a light when the sun was shining, he would invite
them to attend his meeting that evening if they really wanted to know about the
"light".