While I can understand minor variations in the way the symbols are written, I have a big puzzle with DKM. I have seen one version of it that bears no resemblance whatsoever to the way I was taught to draw it.
I did actually ask my reiki master ages ago why that was and she asked me if I could see why both symbols could be DKM. That was ages ago and I forgot all about it. however in the course of my reading I was reminded about the issue today - and I realise I still cannot see how both symbols could the same things. The second version doesn't even use kanji.
The whole issue has got me thinking a lot about the symbols how I write them and what they mean and I thought I might gain some useful insights into before I start teaching other people the symbols.
So what do other people feel is the significance of the way the symbol is drawn? I feel the symbol and the mantra are equally important. What do other people think? The alternative DKM would be a LOT easier to draw
Hi Sally,
I think it's very important for people to understand the symbols and their sounds properly. As you say, many of the symbols are based around kanji, so I myself have researched and gained understanding of the individual strokes of the kanji and what they represent, hence why I find it odd that some people are just happy to draw any old thing and call it the symbol as if it is.
There are a couple of reasons why things change though...
1) the kanji used in the symbols is from the early kanji of Japan (and China as that's where the kanji originally came from for Japan), and they used to have a character set containing many hundreds of kanji, and only the most educated persons in Japan would have been able to study and learn them all. In more recent times however, the character set was simplified (you may see some character sets in computing referred to as "simplified chinese" etc.) so that every day needs, such as newspapers and books, could be easily read by the majority. So if you look at the old kanji compared to the new you will see a big difference, and studying it, you find that many of the intricate details of individual characters are no longer used.
2) corruption by the West. There are those who introduce new age ideas, or new symbols, or feel they have 'channelled' new or alternative symbols, and believe them to somehow be better.
The alternative DKM you talk of (and I think I know which one you mean), is a lot simpler to draw, and I think was introduced down the Rainbow Reiki / William Lee Rand lineage somewhere. I personally don't find it suited to Reiki as it is not Japanese in nature from what I can find, and the original DKM kanji contains the correct symbolism and meaning in the way it is drawn.
I have certainly seen some odd variations of the symbols (and even the Reiki precepts) out there... and it is sometimes shocking how things get corrupted down the lineages (I guess that's Chinese whispers :D)
There are some good books around the subject, such as "Reiki and the Healing Buddha" by Maureen Kelly, or "The Big Book of Reiki Symbols" by Mark Hosak and Walter Luebeck etc. and of course plenty of information on the web and elsewhere about Japanese Kanji and how to read and interpret them.
I also like to say the precepts in Japanese when I recite them daily, and suprisingly, many reiki practitioners I've met haven't got a clue how to recite them in Japanese. To me, the Japanese sounds of the precepts have more depth in their sounds.
All Love and Reiki Hugs