Mantra It is a power-laden syllable or series of syllables that manifest certain cosmic forces. Traditionally there are only 4 mantras in Usui Mikao's teachings. The mantras were given to students as a device for tapping into specific elements of energy. The Japanese words to describe the word mantra are either kotodama or jumon.
Mariko Obasaan (1897 - ) Also known by her Buddhist name Tenon-in. She is a Buddhist nun who was taught by Usui Mikao from 1920- 1926. For more information about fellow students of Usui Mikao click here.
Marsh, Chris A student of Suzuki san (Usui Mikao's cousin who is still alive). He is a Tendai practitioner, iaido practitioner and professional musician. For more information about modern teachers of Usui Mikao's teachings click here.
McCullough, Barbara Lincoln One of Hawayo Takata's 22 Reiki Master students. For more information about her teacher and other fellow students click here.
McFadyen, Mary Alexandra One of Hawayo Takata's 22 Reiki Master students. She took her second level training with John Harvey Gray and her Master Level with Hawayo Takata. She teaches in California, USA. For more information about her teacher and other fellow students click here.
Meiji Emperor (1852-1912) The Meiji Emperor ruled Japan from 1867-1912. Usui Mikao used waka poetry written by the Meiji Emperor in his teachings.
Memorial Stone This is the carved memorial stone of Usui Mikao's life at his grave site at the Pure Land Buddhist Saihoji Temple in Tokyo. It was placed there by a number of his students, just one year after his death in 1927. The memorial stone is one aspect of Usui Mikao's life as seen through the eyes of his students from the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. Unfortunately, the students who wrote this information up are said to not have consulted Usui Mikao's family and therefore may have left out information that was relevant in a memorial about him. For an excellent translation by Inamoto Hyakuten click here.
Menkyo Kaiden (lit. Japanese) Means license of complete and total transmission. It is a certificate given in traditional arts to show full proficiency for a lineage or style. It normally denotes a license indicating a very high level of skill. For some lineages, it might be given to the headmaster. It is said that Usui Mikao received menkyo kaiden in a specific branch of martial arts in 1889.
Mikkyo (lit. Japanese) the secret teaching. There are 5 general areas taught in Tendai Buddhism. They are the teachings of the Lotus Sutra; esoteric Mikkyo practices; meditation practices; precepts; and Pure Land teachings. This form of Buddhism reached Japan at the beginning of the ninth century. There is a clear connection between Usui Mikao's teachings and Mikkyo. As Usui Mikao is believed to have been a Tendai lay priest he must have studied Mikkyo as it is an integral part of Tendai.
Misogi (lit. Japanese) purification. Purification rites are a vital part of Shintoism. A personal purification rite is the purification by water; this may involve standing under a waterfall, which is known as misogi. In Usui Mikao's traditional teachings there is a technique called kenyoku ho - a method of dry bathing or brushing of, which is a form of misogi. Shinto priests practice kenyoku ho according to some Usui Reiki Ryoho teachers.
Mitchell, Paul One of Hawayo Takata's 22 Reiki Master students. He studied Level 1 in 1978 and later received became a Reiki Master in November of 1979 in San Francisco, California. He is a founding member of The Reiki Alliance though he resigned in 1995. Robert Fueston states that according to Rick Bockner, Paul Mitchell and him were initiated into the Master level around the same time, which was October 1980. For more information about his teacher and other fellow students click here.
Mitsui Mieko A Japanese Reiki practitioner living in New York, who visited her native country in 1985. She began a revival of the system of Reiki in Japan by teaching the first two 2 levels of The Radiance Technique. Here, she met Fumio Ogawa, a member of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. In 1986 there was an article in a Japanese magazine called the Twilight Zone with a photo of her practicing the system of Reiki and of Fumio Ogawa reading a book written by the founder of a Western style of Reiki called The Radiance Technique. Hiroshi Doi was also one of the first Japanese to study Levels 1 and 2 with Mitsui Mieko.
Mochizuki Toshitaka Writer of two Japanese Reiki books and founder of the Vortex school in Japan. In his 2001 book, Cho Kantan Iyashi No Te, there is a photo of Usui Mikao and 19 of his students as well as family and friends in 1926. In the first edition of this book Iyashi No Te (Healing Hands), he claims to have healed 3000 people. In his 2001 condensed version with pictures he claims to have healed up to 5200 people. Reiki To Jinjutsu -Tomita Ryu Teate Ryoho (Reiki and Humanitarian Work - Tomita Ryu Hands Healing), a book written by Kaiji Tomita in 1933 was re-published in 1999 with the help of Mochizuki. Included in this book are many anecdotes about healing, hand positions for specific diseases and some techniques like hatsurei ho.
