Reiki Principles

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The

Gokai: The Five 'Principles', 'Precepts' or

'Ideals' of Usui Reiki Copyright

� 2006 Deacon

The Gokai

" The

secret

method of inviting blessings, the spiritual medicine of many

illnesses (Sh�fuku no hih�, Manbyo no rei yaku)

Just for today (Kyo dake wa):

Don't get angry (Okoru na*)

Don't worry (Shinpai su na)

Be grateful (Kansha shite)

Work hard (Gyo wo hage me) Be

kind to others (Hito ni shinsetsu ni)

Mornings and evenings sit in the gassho position and repeat these

words out loud and in your heart (Asa you gassho shite kokoro ni nenji

kuchi ni tonaeyo) For the improvement of mind and

body (Shin shin kaizen) Usui

Spiritual Healing Method (Usui Reiki Ryoho) The founder,

Mikao Usui (Choss�, Usui Mikao) "

* *

* * *

The

Significance

of the Gokai

Many

people believe that the gokai - the Five

Principles or Precepts - are an important key to

the system that is Usui Reiki Ryoho. Perhaps it is that they are not just 'important'

but rather 'VITAL' - that they are the very CORE of Usui-sensei's

system - that the Precepts themselves are:

" The secret method of inviting blessings, the spiritual medicine of

many illnesses " spoken of in the introductory statement which comes

directly before the Precepts themselves. The Precepts themselves are 'keys' or strategies

to apply to life. In fact,

at least two of the Precepts clearly fall in the

cartegory of straight-forward, direct 'preventative medicine'. [see

article: Just

For Today.. ] Different versions of the gokai?

As you

will be seen below,

there are

numerous slightly different paraphrased translations of each of the

five principles. In a

couple of renditions of the principles, no's 3 and 4 are merged

together [1]

(and in one case, principles 1 and 2 are also combined into a single

principle [2]

), yet whatever the version, these differenty-worded translations still

essentially all deal of the same five concepts:

anger,

worry,

gratitude, work, kindness " Honour your parents... "

Some

people have commented why one version of the principles has 'Honour

your parents, teachers and elders' where the majority of others have

the 'gratitude' principle On

several occasions Takata-sensei expressed the principles in slightly

different wording - in an attempt to clarify the core sentiment for the

students present at the time - and this is partly why different people

use slightly variant wordings. It was common for Takata sensei to state the

'gratitude' principle as " We will count our blessings " or " ... be

grateful for our many blessings " and to qualify this by explaining

gratitude included honouring our fathers and mothers, teachers and

neighbours - and even our food. To Takata sensei, the greatest of the five was

Gratitude. " Mornings and

evenings... " The

'user instructions' presented with the formal Japanese version of the

principles (at the top of this page) tell us: " Mornings and evenings sit in the gassho

position and repeat these words out loud and in your heart "

And as a

result, many people seem to consider the gokai as

being something to only use in this way - seeing

them simply as a set of 'positive-thinking' affirmations - or

alternatively, as some form of, as it were, 'magic incantation'.

Yes, we may

practice gokai sansho (repeating the five

principles three times) both on rising and on going to bed - and this can

help to imprint them on our subconscious - but I feel too much emphasis

is placed on chanting them, and possibly not enough

on living by them. Stronger feeling when recited in English

or Japanese? Some

people claim to get a stronger feeling whilst

reciting one paraphrased English (or other language) version of the

principles; yet others, while reciting the 'formal' Japanese version;

but in my opinion, the real power of the gokai

only truly manifests in the instances of their application

in the midst of daily life.

Examples of some of the slightly

different paraphrased translations of each of the five principles.

Just for today [i.e.

focus in the here-and-now]: Principle

1 has been

variously stated as: Do not

anger Don't get angry Thou shall not anger

I will not be angry I will let go of anger

Principle

2 has been variously stated as: Do not worry

Don't be anxious Thou shall not worry I will not

worry I will let go of worry Principle

3 has been variously stated as: Be grateful

Show appreciation Thou shall be grateful for the many

blessings I will give thanks for my many blessings

I will count my many blessings Express your thanks

Show gratitude to every living thing Honor your parents,

teachers and elders Principle

4 has been variously stated as: Work hard

Study diligently Devote yourself to your work Earn

thy livelihood with honest labor I will do my work honestly

Be diligent in your business Principle

5 has been variously stated as: Be kind to people

Be kind to others Be kind to thy neighbors I will

be kind to every living thing I will be kind to every living

creature Show compassion to every living thing

* * * *

*   A

personal phrasing of the gokai

- from my Ajari-yuga

Empowerment-Deepening Reiki Meditation:

  _________________

NOTES:*

The Japanese characters pronounced

as okoru

can also be pronounced as ikaru 

- so we can say 'okoru na' or  alternatively 'ikaru

na'

[1] eg: Do not anger

Do not worry Do your work with gratitude Be kind to

others [2]

Today only, anger not - worry not Do your work with

appreciation Be kind to people