One of the qualities that transforms an average Reiki Practitioner into a great Reiki Practitioner is compassion. This post looks at the best ways that I’ve found to cultivate a strong sense of compassion and make it a strong point in your Reiki practice.
The most effective way I’ve found for bringing a greater sense of compassion into your Reiki practice is through the development and cultivation of compassion for yourself. That needs to come first because if you can feel true compassion for yourself you will not be able to feel it for anyone else. Its kind of like the air masks on airplanes… you put them on yourself first before taking care of those you are caring for. If you aren’t breathing you won’t be of much good to anyone else. 
The rosewood statue pictured above is Quan Yin the Bodhisattva of compassion. A statue of Mother Mary might be just as effective in reminding you of this quality of compassion, however the two are quite different in comparison. Mother Mary was a real person whereas Quan Yin was not. Technically speaking, Quan Yin was not a real person at all and is in all actuality an energy field represented by that particular female personage. Quan Yin is all about the energy surrounding compassion and through Quan Yin meditations or prayer one can become increasingly more and more familiar with this energy of compassion, and apply it in their daily life and in their Reiki practice.
Quan Yin accepts you just as you are, the way a loving mother accepts her child, and that is precisely the way you need to accept yourself. If I might alter the lyrics of the Van Morrison song from “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” to “Have I Told Myself Lately That I Love Me” that might make it a bit more apropos. The powerful practice of looking in the mirror and saying those three little difficult words “I Love You” and truly meaning it, can be truly expansive and mind altering for some and for those who haven’t tried it you might want to give it a go… it can’t hurt can it? Just make sure you’re not looking in the mirror of a crowded public toilet when you do so. 
The doorway to compassion is non-judgment. In the early days of Hana Reiki I had actually created a 6th Reiki Principle… Just for today… do not judge. This actually came from a Toltec Shaman practice and not a Buddhist practice as one might venture to guess, and through the ability to remove the life draining practice of judging (judging others, judging yourself, judging situations, etc.) from your daily life you free up a tremendous amount of energy that can be better used elsewhere.
Take a look at the judgments you make on a daily basis. Look at how you pass judgment on other people’s thoughts and deeds. Look at how you pass judgment on your own. Compassion is all about not judging. During Reiki sessions, always go first to a place of non-judgment… the more time you spend there the more you will get used to being there. At first… notice how judging manifests itself in your life. Then you can take steps towards completely eliminating it from your life. Removing judgment and cultivating a strong sense of compassion will catapult your Reiki practice to a whole new level.
For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!
4 responses to “Reiki Sense of Compassion”
Hi Duane
Actually, according to the legend, Quan Yin was born into this world as Miao Shan, the daughter of a king of the Chou Dynasty (1050โ256 B.C.).
Quan Yin is the Goddess (or Boddhisattva) of Mercy and Compassion. She is Kannon in Japanese Buddhism, Guan Yin in Chinese, Chenrezig in Tibetan and Avalokiteลvara in Sanskrit India. Avalokiteลvara and Chenrezig are usually depicted as a male or androgynous while Quan Yin, Kannon and Guan Yin are female.
Avalokiteลvara is the bodhisattva who has made a great vow to listen to the prayers of all sentient beings in times of difficulty, and to postpone his own Buddhahood until he has assisted every being on Earth in achieving nirvana. It is believed that in a previous eon (kalpa) a devoted, compassionate Buddhist monk became a bodhisattva, transformed in the present kalpa into Avalokiteลvara. Most of the Buddhas and Boddhisattvas have a living breathing man or woman associated with them. This shows our ability to become enlightened with dedicated practice.
Guan Yin (่ง้ณ, pinyin guฤnyฤซn, Wade-Giles: kuan-yin) is an exact translation of Avalokitasvara. The prefix ava, which means “down”; lokita, a past participle of the verb lok (“to notice, behold, observe”), and svara (“sound, noise”), or “sound perceiver”, literally “he who has perceived sound” (the cries of sentient beings who need his help).
Thanks for the great article.
Adonea
Hi Adonea!
Thanks for the information!! I’ve always found the theory that Quan Yin, Mother Mary, Isis, Avalokiteลvara, Kannon and even Ha Hai-i Wuhti of Hopi Indian lore (amongst many others) are all actually one and the same… manifesting at different times, to different cultures in an attempt to bolster the belief that love and compassion are amongst the stronger powers known to man to be quite fascinating.
~love & light~
Duane
Hi Duane,
Tis interesting indeed… let’s take that a step further… ultimately we are all One. This implies that you and I are One, as well you and Quan Yin are One. And Quan Yin and I are One… as she and every sentient being is One. We humans just don’t recognize this. We have forgotten and see ourselves as separate from everything and everyone. Isolated and alone… we suffer. This is an illusion! We simply have forgotten our connectedness and our own Sacredness.
A few Souls incarnate with full remembrance. Some of them we recognize and call ‘Buddhas, Avatars, Saints or Messengers of God’. They are us… walking, breathing, talking reminders who impart knowledge. They show us ‘Who We Truly Are’. But we only see their Specialness or Godliness, put them on pedestals and end up worshiping them. We create entire religions full of dogmas based on their messages. We think so little of ourselves that we couldn’t possibly be ‘THAT’. So we worship it, rather then remembering, emulating and becoming ‘THAT’ ourselves.
Even if we have the understanding we are ‘THAT’, we still don’t fully believe. For if we did… when we do… we will walk not only in the footsteps of the Great Masters… we will be the One’s creating the footsteps. All we have to do is set aside our beliefs, forget all we have learned, feel our connectedness and just be… in this moment.
We are all Love and Compassion in beautiful diversity. If we all walked this, imagine the wondrous, magical things we’d create together. Reiki helps us remember, builds our compassion and love, and reconnects us to the Gift of Spirit. Thanks Usui Sensei for this great gift!
in Loving Service,
Adonea
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