In the late 1800's, a Japanese scholar named Mikao Usui undertook an extensive study of healing phenomena as brought forth through history's greatest spiritual leaders. Through travel, research, and meditation, he was led to an ancient healing method based on a combination of Buddhist practices performed only by monks and kept as secret knowledge. It is believed that Dr. Usui learned part of this method and received special empowerments and a meditation through which he expanded his understanding of the energy of healing. He spent the rest of his life practicing and teaching this knowledge. One of his students, a medical practitioner named Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, gave this method a proper structure, which lay people could practice. This method is now known as "Reiki".

Reiki is a Japanese word. Rei means spirit, and Ki means energy or life force. In essence, Reiki could be interpreted as spiritual or universal energy. Reiki, also known as the Usui System of Natural Healing, is a very simple technique to aid in the process of healing and leads to a path of self-transformation. It was brought to the West by Mrs. Hawayo Takata and has spread through the US and Europe for the last 25 years.

Reiki Jin Kei Do, another lineage of Reiki, progressed from Dr. Hayashi to Sensei Takeuchi, a Zen monk, and then to one of his students, Seiji Takamori. All these Reiki Masters received the empowerments and meditations originally transmitted by Mikao Usui. Takamori, born in 1907, became a monk and a Reiki Master under Takeuchi. He felt a deep desire to search for the origins of Reiki, so he embarked on a 20 year journey to India, Nepal, and Tibet. After a long search, he found a few monks belonging to a special sect who practiced the Buddho System of Healing, a method similar but more complete than Reiki. Seiji spent many years studying this method with these monks. After receiving all the secret teachings and energy transmissions, he returned to teach meditation and healing to whomever was ready to receive this precious gift, which he then called EnerSense. In 1990, he taught Ranga Premaratna the four stages of EnerSense and also the teachings and empowerments of Reiki, as transmitted in this very spiritual Buddhist lineage. Premaratna later called this lineage Reiki Jin Kei Do - Reiki in the Way of Compassion and Wisdom.