Johrei Healing

The WORK OF MOKICHI

Joheri, The medical art of Japan
Mokichi Okada's application of his principles must be viewed in the light of his concept of the universe and of this world, and in light of his express purpose of creating a true civilization. Without averting his eyes from the confused state of the world, he focused on his ideal and prescribed a plan for the world's renewal. As noted before, Okada placed safety of life, health, and appreciation of artistic beauty at the root of the civilization to be. One aspect that he worked especially vigorously to implement was the deliverance of humanity from illness.

Modern medical science takes pride in its highly developed resources for diagnosis and treatment, based on the advances in scientific technology. However, it is a fact that ever since Descartes' dualistic mind-matter philosophy separated body and mind--and defined the human being as an object comprised of parts such as organs, bones, muscle, and nerves--medical science has primarily concerned itself with the physical body as its subject.

However, a patient is not, in reality, an object detached from a soul. Almost all patients harbor not only anxieties about disease itself, but, being human, are often burdened by complicated interpersonal relationships, loss of desire to live, and a multitude of other problems reflecting the instability of contemporary society. Perceiving this, the number of people in the medical community who believe in and apply the principles of holistic medicine has increased. These practitioners regard the patient as a human being, a being with a body and a soul, each of which intimately and mutually influences the other. These practitioners believe that medicine was originally intended to treat patients within the context of their relations with their natural and social environments.

In 1934, Okada established a form of medicine that he called Jôrei. In a broad sense, Jôrei falls into the category of holistic medicine. However, Okada's basic attitude in tackling illnesses that beset humanity was rooted in his view of the universe. As noted before, becoming aware of the existence of the spiritual world through divine revelation, Okada recognized a universal force at work behind all things--a force responsible for their creation, providing order and governing their life processes. Furthermore, he believed that all causes originate in the spiritual world, and that the physical world is the result of those causes. Okada considered human beings to be part of nature, and refuted the idea that they existed outside the natural order. He recognized the presence of the universal life force at the root of all the processes of human life; and, in delving into the interrelaionship between spirit and body within human beings, he brought to light the true picture of humanity--a conjunction of spirit and flesh. His subsequent interpretation of pathology was based on just such observations of the universe and human beings.

In accordance with his view of the universe, Okada explained that the various afflictions that arise in this world are brought about through accumulation of clouds in the spiritual world, and that these clouds are due to humankind's vices--acts that contradict natural law. The same holds true for the individual human being, where the state of the human spirit is reflected in the body. To Okada, illness is brought about by the depravity of human beings, expressed in their words and present in their soul, and by the intake of foreign matter into the body.

Okada saw the elements of fire, water, and earth as the constituents of the spirit and as the bases of the functioning of the primordial life force. Hence, he believed that the spiritual clouds, and the illnesses that arise in connection with the clouds, can be eliminated by concentrating the active power of the three elements, that is, by utilizing the universal life force through the practice of Jôrei.

In 1935, along with initiating activities for the creation of a new civilization, Okada introduced his plans for instituting Jôrei clinics in various parts of Japan. This plan was based on his understanding that the establishment and propagation of medical treatment capable of creating a world free of disease was of primary importance for humanity. Working toward this goal called for the inception of Jôin clinics, institutions for the study and practice of Jôrei, to be operated with the support of physicians versed in both Western and Eastern medicine.

Shortly after World War II, Okada undertook to establish a Jôin clinic in the outskirts of Atami and a model plantation for Nature Farming. However, his plan to establish Jôin clinics was not realized within his lifetime, due, among other factors, to the social restrictions of that time, and was not brought to fruition until 1991, when a Jôin clinic was established in Tokyo.

Sourced from:- MOA International