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A very interesting interpretation of the source of Reiki. She has read the evidence on the true history of Reiki, showing Usui to have been a Buddhist, and that he was exploring a ncient buddhist writings to develop Reiki. Seeing that as Usui's background, she studied the available Buddhist teachings to see what parallels can be found.

By Buddhism, what's meant is the Buddhist practices that are full of symbolism such as the practices in Tibet. In this style of Buddhism there are whole pantheons of dieties, Buddha's and other spiritual beings. My fiancee practices Zen Buddhism which is a very stripped down Buddhist style, being purely about sitting and contemplating ones self.

The Buddhism presented by Maureen Kelly is that of the richly decorated Mandala's and the paths to enlightenment they encode. These mandala's are drawn on paper, but actually represent three-dimensional pictures whose form is rooted in the Ziggurat's of ancient Babylon. The biblical story of the Tower of Babylon refers to these same structures. Apparently each Buddha and other spiritual being in Buddhism is representing a particular state of consciousness, and the mandala's show the relationship between different states of consciousness on the path to enlightenment.

One of the keys in Maureen Kelly's treatment is the Ba Gua. This form is perhaps best known from Feng Shui, but is of Chinese origin more ancient than the arrival of Buddhism in China. The Buddhists used the Ba Gua heavily in explaining their principles to the Chinese, and this heavily influenced the form of the Mandala's.

This should give you a flavor of the depth to which Maureen Kelly has studied the connection between Reiki and Buddhism. The first part of the book lays a groundwork of understanding Buddhism before she dives into the connections with Reiki.

For example let's look at the connection she makes with the Reiki Principles. First, these are obviously written in the form of Buddhist Precepts, or a set of agreements one makes before entering serious Buddhist practice. The Precepts are a code of behavior or action which are to serve as a guideline as you search for your own enlightenment. The Reiki Principles are in the same form, yet in Western Reiki the Principles are quickly forgotten when they can well serve as a guide in our own individual search for enlightenment. Additionally Maureen Kelly connects the five principles with five Buddha's:

The connections are discussed at length in her book, as is a prayer practice which aids one in using the Reiki Principles as Precepts in the style of Buddhism.

The largest portion of the book concerns the symbols. The four Reiki symbols, as she points out, are four of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism, as so:

And, again, each of these connections are discussed in-depth in the book. What might be controversial is her reinterpretation of the method for drawing the Distance and Master symbols.

Both of these symbols are drawn using Kanji, the standard way of writing Chinese and Japanese characters. However the years and ignorance by Westerners in the proper way of drawing these characters have led to the great variations in the symbols being taught. Kanji has rigid rules on drawing the characters which, if followed, produces the same result every time. This is contrasted with the Shosho style of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy where the drawing of the characters flow from the energy of the moment in which they are drawn.

This has lead her to a different rendition of both the Hon sha ze sho nen and Dai ko myo symbols that she claims to be more accurate. She also claims we can retrain our Reiki attunements simply by practicing drawing the symbols in this other format.

The mental/emotional symbol is also interesting. As it is not a Kanji symbol, getting a good translation of its meaning is not as easy as looking up the individual symbols in a dictionary.

In her analysis the Sei Hei Ki is evolved from the first letter of the Gupta alphabet, an early form of Sanskrit. In this alphabet the symbol represents the ah sound which is the first letter of many alphabets, and is "a mystic symbol for the ultimate beginning or creation of the universe, and for the creative power which brought the cosmos into being". Hence this phoneme is common in the names for the Deity such as Yahweh, Jehova, Allah, Ra, Baal, Ahura Mazda, Mab, Adman, etc. The ah sound is also associated with the Heart chakra.

In all this is a highly recommended book, suitable for Reiki practitioners who are already trained. This book will definitely give you something to chew on for awhile.