Resolving the misinformation regarding the transmission of Reiki by Venerable Seiji Takamori. Editor’s comment:
June 2nd, 2006 After extensive searches over several years, in a recent communication Beth Sanders has confirmed Ranga's story of how he had met Seiji Takamori and trained with him. She said, "Everything Ranga said here is as I remember it - I totally confirm Rangas story."
An open letter, regarding the transmission of Reiki in the lineage of Venerable Seiji Takamori.
By Dr. Ranga J. Premaratne Ph.D (Reiki Jin-Kei-Do & Buddho-EnerSense Lineage Head)
It was brought to my attention that a totally misconstrued article regarding Reiki Jin Kei Do lineage has been published on Kathleen Milner’s website. The article states erroneous details about “ A Zen monk” who held a class in California . The article appears below. It seems Kathleen Milner wrote a story regarding her student Beth and a Zen monk. Since this story and the contents of this article referring to a Zen monk is similar in some ways to the Japanese Zen monk who trained me in Reiki and the student in Wisconsin ***mentioned later in the article seems like myself, I am stating the correct version of the “story”. First of all the name of Kathleen Milner’s student (one of her first students as she states) is Beth Sanders not Beth Saunders. I met Beth while I was a Post-doctoral research associate working at the Food Research Institute (of Wisconsin) through a advertisement she had placed for Reiki training at Shakthi Bookshop in Madison. Since I was looking for a teacher to do my Reiki master training I called Beth and received training during a weekend. She was a wonderful lady and I liked her as a teacher. However, the material she presented, particularly the Reiki “symbols” for Reiki II were no different to the ones I had received from Elke Petra Palm from whom I received Reiki I and II training. Because I had doubts about the symbols which were supposed to be Sanskrit symbols “Dr. Usui had seen in his vision”, to me they did not look like Sanskrit. When I received similar set of Reiki II symbols and the master symbol which did not resemble any of the Sanskrit letters, I was disappointed about the material. Among the material given to me by Beth there were other so called Tibetan symbols which again did not look like Tibetan letters.
This led to my search for true information and a teacher. I was fortunate to meet a Japanese monk who used to be a Zen monk. I was introduced over the phone to this monk by a relative of mine living in San Francisco at that time. He had met this monk, Venerable Seiji Takamori at a local park where he was sitting in meditation. My relative had invited Ven. Takamori to his house for a meal. I had called my relative to tell him about Reiki as he was suffering from ulcerative colitis. Because I mentioned Reiki and my relative was asking details about Reiki, the monk hearing the word Reiki had inquired my relative who was mentioning Reiki on the other side. Having found out that Seiji was a Reiki teacher, my relative handed him the phone. After my conversation with Seiji I managed to convince him to visit me in Madison to receive training in meditation and Reiki.
The erroneous facts in the article are that:
- The Zen monk (if he were Seiji) never taught Reiki or meditation to anyone (other than myself) in the USA. He was just travelling.
- He did not attend a class or sit in a class organized by anyone .
- He certainly did not meet Beth Sanders. (I am hoping that Beth sees this article and confirms the facts.)
- Seiji Takamori was not a student of Hawayo Takata. He met her and received master initiation from her in exchange for services as a monk. The reason Seiji requested the initiation from Takata was not because he needed training but to experience the energy transmission and information from another student of Hayashi, as his own teacher Ven. Takeuchi had received. It was important for him to see the material being taught in the west. Seiji had travelled in India, Tibet, and Nepal and found a group of Buddhist monks who practised a form of healing and meditation which had direct links to the Reiki he had studied with Takeuchi and was the reason for his travels to India, Tibet, and Nepal. He was empowered to teach this form of healing and as the Reiki symbols originated from the Sanskrit/Tibetan mantras, yantras, and symbols used in the ancient healing system he received training in, he needed to experience the energy and information imparted by Takata, the only master he knew of in the west trained by Hayashi.
After receiving training in meditation, Reiki, and the ancient system of healing that the Reiki symbols taught by Seiji originated from, I was empowered by Seiji to teach Reiki and the older system. I am the only person trained to teach Reiki and the older system of healing. After receiving this unique gift and seeing the differences between the Reiki that I had received from Elke Petra Palm and Beth Sanders, I decided to contact Beth to tell about my experience. After listening to me Beth visited me in Madison and received Reiki I, II, III in the system of Reiki I now call Reiki Jin Kei Do. Since I was not fully prepared to teach the older system, I taught Beth the very basic meditation of that system.
Since I left USA I have not been in touch with Beth Sanders.
I do not know where Kathleen Milner received her information from. It could have been a misinterpretation of what Beth had told her. But if the Zen monk and the student in Wisconsin refer to Seiji Takamori and myself, respectively, then the truth has been completely distorted. It is unfortunate that such articles and books are published without proper research. If Kathleen took the time to research her material, she could have easily contacted her former student Beth Sanders or myself (if Beth had given the name of her student in Wisconsin and if that was my name) to confirm the details before publishing in her book or on her website.
I hope that readers of my comments on the article contact for further information, myself or Gordon and Dorothy Bell (who received training in Reiki Jin Kei Do to master level and the older system (Buddho/EnerSense) to master and advanced master stages by me) who brought the article to my attention and kindly agreed to publish my comments on their website.
Full text of this newsletter can be found at http://www.kathleenmilner.com/Newsletter.html - (2006 notation this URL has changed - see top of this document)Extract from Kathleen Milner’s Winter 2003 Newsletter
There are many legitimate metaphysical teachers and methods of becoming psychic or a healer. There is also a lot of fraud, which is one reason why metaphysics, healers and psychics are looked upon with great skepticism . This is why I strongly suggest that people question and ask to see a healing demonstration before undertaking any classes on healing.
For example, I have received a significant number of inquires concerning Beth Saunders and the Zen Monk. The story as I wrote it in Reiki & Other Rays of Touch Healing is clear. Beth was one of my first Reiki students. She then taught a class in California. The man in California who sponsored the class convinced the Zen Monk, who had been initiated by Takata (the Japanese-American woman who brought Reiki to the United States), to come to California and take Beth's class on the grounds that the Truth should be exposed in the light of day. The way in which I teach Reiki Mastership everyone in the class practices initiating each degree three times on three different people. After the class, the Zen Monk told everyone that what I had taught Beth was exactly the same as what Takata had taught him.
After the class in California the Zen Monk went home to Shri Lanka. Sometime afterwards, he died. **** One of Beth's students in Wisconsin claimed that this same Zen Monk found him in Wisconsin and that he was the only one that the Zen monk taught and initiated. This individual claimed that this same Zen Monk had been initiated not by Takata, but through another lineage line from Dr. Usui (the Japanese man who had his own consciousness-raising experience over 100 years ago and was taught initiations into healing by the Ascended Master who met him in the Otherworlds). Around his story he created initiations and a Reiki system, which people around the world have paid to learn.
If we look at this logically, if the Zen monk had been enticed to come to California to expose the truth, wouldn't he have told everybody in the class that he had been initiated by someone other than Takata? Also, if his story was true then he and his students would be able to do, at the very least, the same healings that Takata did. (There is a witnessed account of Takata raising the dead.) They cannot!
There are many people who have taken the original Reiki initiations or Tera -Mai™ initiations and then tried to make up initiations of their own. Some of these initiations do not work at all, some produce a distorted energy, some work for a short time, some of these manmade initiations open the initiate's healing channels without connecting them to Source or God with the result that the initiate's healing channels are opened and they are taking on board the symptoms of the person they are working on.
Be cautious! Ask all of the questions! Who is your teacher? Where did this energy come from? (Tibetan Reiki does not come from Tibet; Usui Reiki is not the original Reiki that Takata brought over to the United States.) What kinds of healings are you able to do? (It is actually fraudulent to say that healings are happening when they are not for the purpose of selling attunements or initiations.) Ask to see a healing demonstration! Take a look at the teacher's students! Just because there is energy does not necessarily mean that it can be used for healing. I strongly suggest that people do this with regard to me, any Tera -Mai™ teacher or any instructor of any Reiki or other healing system.
For more information on Takata, Dr. Usui, Reiki or how the phenomenon of healing works, please read Reiki & Other Rays of Touch Healing.
Editor’s comment:
This is the second attempt to correct these erroneous views. The first, was by letter directly to Ms. Milner after the original comments in her book “Reiki and Other Rays of Healing”. Sadly, no response was received and obviously, these views are still an issue for her to have re-emerged in a 2003 newsletter.
Our purpose in presenting the view of the lineage head here is to provide a balanced view, so that you can make your own mind up on this issue.
Gordon Bell, April 18, 2003
Record of extract from Kathleen Milners website dated 2003 "Ask Kathleen Milner"
* Another question is about Buddhistic energy (for example medicine Buddha and Kalachakra). Initiations (other than TM Reiki and TM Seichem) are done. Again looking at the TM registration form, I only can say that this is ok because there is no relation tot TM Reiki or TM Seichem. Can you please confirm for me that this is correct or in the other way explain why not?
Kathleen writes:
These are fine so long as they are administered by somebody who has been properly attuned and taught. Unfortunately, there are people who simply outright lie. For example, there is a type of Reiki that was supposed to come from the Zen monk that Takata initiated. The people who follow this kind of Reiki are told the story about how Beth Sanders (who was actually one of my students) brought the Zen monk over to the United States and that the Zen monk initiated and taught only one man, a man in Wisconsin the original Reiki initiations that he had learned from another one of Dr. Usui's students. The truth is that a man in California paid for the Zen monk’s flight to California and asks the Zen monk to take Beth Sanders Reiki mastership class. In this class the Zen monk, like all of the other students in the class, practiced all 3 Reiki initiations that I had been taught by my Reiki master. Margaret Shelton.
The Zen monk stated that everything was the same with the following exceptions:
1. Takata never emphasized any order to initiating the chakras. I had taught my students from the beginning to start with the crown and work down and this was later confirmed by Buddha in my consciousness-raising experience.
2. Takata taught the contractions and breathing but never emphasized them. From the first Reiki Mastership class I taught, I emphasized the contractions and breathing and found different ways to incorporate the contractions and breathing into my classes.
3. Takata never allowed questions.
So, just because somebody uses the word "Buddhism" or "Zen", it does not necessarily follow that they are able to pass on initiations. People seeking out attunements and metaphysical instruction are well advised to check things out. I hope this helps! If you have further questions please write again. Kathleen Milner
Editor's Comment - May 2006. It has been discovered that the Kathleen Milner newsletter reference now appears in her "Fall 2002 Newsletter" at http://www.kathleenmilner.com/NewsletterFall2002.htm. The comments were originally in the Winter 2003 Newsletter.
There is another reference on the website at http://www.kathleenmilner.com/Ask_Kathleen.htm. The page is dated 2003 and the relavant section is archived below.
For more information on this topic.