by William Lee Rand
John 14-12: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me, can do the same miracles I have done, and even greater things than these will you do."
One of the outstanding aspects of Jesus' life was the miracles he worked. According to the Bible, Jesus walked on water, fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fishes, changed water to wine and raised people from the dead. However, the most meaningful of his miracles were the healings he performed. These healings include: paralysis, lameness, fever, catalepsy, hemorrhage, skin disease, mental disorders, spirit possession, deafness and blindness. Many of these healings were accomplished by the laying on of hands. This is indicated frequently in the New Testament, Luke 4:40 states: "When the Sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hand on each one, he healed them."
In Matthew 8:14-15, Jesus uses touch to heal Peter's mother-in-law of a fever. In Mark 1:40-42 Jesus uses his hands to heal a man with leprosy. This is also mentioned in Luke 5:12-13. Matthew 20:29-34 describes how Jesus healed two blind men by touching their eyes and in Mark 8:22-25 Jesus uses his hands to heal another blind man. In Mark 7:32 35 he uses touch to heal a man who is deaf and can't speak. In Luke 7:12-15, Jesus raises a dead man by touching his coffin and in Luke 8:49-55 Jesus uses touch to return a dead girl to life.
There are many similarities between the laying on of hands healing Jesus did and the practice of Reiki. One important similarity is the fact that Jesus could pass the power to heal on to others which is similar to the Reiki attunement process. We read in Luke 9:1-2 that Jesus gave his twelve disciples power to drive out all demons and to cure diseases. We do not know by what process Jesus gave healing power to his disciples, but the fact that he was able to pass it on to them indicates an important similarity with Reiki.
Another aspect of Jesus' healing practice that is similar to Reiki relates to faith. While faith was required for many of the healings he performed, it appears that the healings Jesus did with his hands did not require faith. Mark 6:5-6 states: "He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith." So, in spite of the fact that they did not believe, Jesus was still able to use laying on of hands to heal. This is one of the important aspects of Reiki: It does not require faith on the part of those receiving a treatment in order for the Reiki to work.
The fact that Jesus had secret teachings he gave only to those who he had given healing power is clearly indicated in Matthew 13:10-11 and Mark 4:10-12 & 34. Secret knowledge is also part of the Reiki teachings in that the symbols as well as the process of doing attunements are traditionally kept secret and only made available to those who take a Reiki class.
It is not known whether Jesus was born with the ability to heal through touch or if this was something he acquired. His activities between age twelve and thirty are not mentioned in the Bible. It has been suggested by several researchers that during this time Jesus traveled to the East and was schooled in many of the mystical teachings of India, Tibet and China. If this is so, it is possible that Jesus was initiated into a healing technique, during this time.
On the other hand, it is possible that Jesus was taught directly by God or the Holy Spirit or simply had these abilities from birth. There is some good information indicating that the healing methods of Jesus were preserved by the Church of the East and passed on by it's missionaries who traveled along the Silk Road and other trade routes to India, Tibet and China. It is possible that this information on healing could have been incorporated into the religious teachings of the East and therefore could have been the original source of the Reiki techniques that were used by Dr. Usui.
The early followers of Jesus' teachings were made up of several groups. One such group was the Gnostics. They practiced laying on of hands and professed to have a secret knowledge that had been passed on to them by Jesus and his disciples. The Gnostics were made up of many smaller groups some of which were known as the Docetists, the Marcionites, and the Carpocratians. They were united by their core beliefs which included: a personal experience of Jesus or the "kingdom of heaven within," their freedom and lack of rules, guidelines or creeds and their reliance on inspiration and inner guidance. Their existence is attested to by the Gnostic gospels which are part of the Nag Hamadi Library which was discovered in Egypt in 1959. The fact that Jesus had additional teachings not recorded in the Bible is attested to in a letter written in the second century AD by the early Church father, Clement of Alexandria. In Clement's letter, he spoke of a secret gospel of Mark which was based on the normal canonical one but with additions for special followers of Jesus, referred to as "those who were being perfected" and "those who are being initiated into the great mysteries."
When Christianity became organized after the second century, its teachings were centered around faith and the official teachings of the church, rather than healing or "good works" and inner guidance as practiced by the Gnostics. At this time, those promoting the organization of the church began subduing and banishing those Gnostics who would not conform to the authority of the newly developing Church. In addition they tried to destroy the Gnostic gospels. With the elimination of the Gnostics and the establishment of the Official Christian Church, the practice of laying on hands by lay Christians was strongly discouraged.
Jesus possessed great confidence in his ability and was able to heal in an instantaneous way with spectacular results. It is clear that he had perfected many skills and used them in conjunction to get the results he created. Clearly the Bible indicates that he did healing by laying on hands and also indicated that we could do the same. The teachings of Jesus, as well as the example he set are a great inspiration for us
