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December 31, 2020

REIKI AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY: A BUDDHIST OUTLOOK

Pallabi Mukherjee

Assistant Professor (Guest), Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda, Bargaon, Bihar, India

Abstract


There is a huge misconception prevalent in the globalized society that Parapsychology and Reiki both is not the realm of science but of religion. This is perhaps because the western definition of the ‘mind’ is limited only to what may be called ‘normal consciousness’, the sub-consciousness and the unconscious dimensions. In the East, however, particularly in India for many centuries we are quite aware and known in the study of mind through practices, which has remarkable dimensions far beyond and above what may be called the normal experience of practice. The traditional forms of Yogā, Pataňjali’s Yogā śāstra, various forms of meditation and yogic practices clearly describes the paranormal faculties that can be developed as a result of following the practical practices of the various discipline of meditation. These include telepathy, telekinesis, hearing at a great distance and other such faculties that may appear supernatural but are, in fact, a result of continuous rigorous training of the mind so that it transcends the normal barriers. The study of parapsychology, therefore, is as much a subject of rigorous scientific exploration as is classical psychology. It has a very close link between Reiki as well as Buddhist psychological study. The name Reiki was given by Dr. Mikao Usui who lived in Japan during the nineteenth century. It is a meditative path to personal and spiritual growth. Life Force Energy is the foundation of all lives, a sort of subtle cosmic plane that supports, nourishes and sustains the cycle of birth, life, and death of all living things. Through prayer, meditation or Reiki practice, practitioners may feel less separate and increasingly whole within self and within the whole of creation. Reiki gives a sense of unity, and become more aware of the role or place in the great scheme of things and at the same time feel supported, safe, open, and confident in own abilities to be all that is without doubt or apology. It can be explained that the spiritual journey experiences the Essence of Reiki as opposed to the Form that are the actual physical and mental methods for using and sharing Reiki, Mahāyāna Buddhist practice. In the study of Buddhist Philosophy, the Mind plays a very important role in the as according to Gautama, the Buddha all our actions are performed by Mind. To explain the complicated nature of Mind endeavour will be to unfold step by step the different factors of Mind. Mind indeed has close relations to ethics in so far as actions are concerned. Hence, psychology and ethics are closely related to each other in Buddhism. Therefore, parapsychology and Buddhist psychological meditation practice, i.e. Reiki conjointly provides valuable guidelines for pursuing what is surely the most exciting adventure in science today, the study of consciousness itself. In the life of today’s world, despite its tremendous scientific and technological achievements, still not been able to tackle the most exciting and enigmatic of all phenomena on the planet- the human mind. UNESCO has famous opening lines that point out that wars began, and not only wars between nations through weapons or chemicals, also biological war in the mode of Pandemic, civil strife, violence, crime, growing stress, the tension in the minds of men. It is, therefore, necessary to mankind to start turning the searchlight inwards to see what it is that moves our thoughts and actions, and whether we can transcend our inner consciousness to dive towards a more holistic and integrated view of life in a scientific as well as spiritual mode without any biases. These are the objectives and also the needs of this study.

Keywords


parapsychology, reiki, consciousness, practice of mind.

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To cite this article


Pallabi Mukherjee, (2020). Reiki and Parapsychology: A Buddhist Outlook. John Foundation Journal of EduSpark, 2(4), 44-52.

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