Gokai · Mikao Usui's five Reiki life principles, calligraphed by Mark Hosak
Gokai · Usui's life principles

The five life principles of Mikao Usui, the gokai 五戒, are at the heart of Reiki practice. They are among the most often quoted texts in the Reiki world, and at first glance they look very simple. Their depth only opens up when you read the Japanese original, character by character. In this article I'd like to do exactly that, based on my translation in my book Reiki in der therapeutischen Praxis.

Two sources 二源

There are two written sources for Usui's life principles. The first is a calligraphy that can be seen on a well-known photograph of Mikao Usui. The second is a passage on his memorial stone next to his grave at the temple Saihōji in Tokyo.

Both contain the five principles, but they differ in length and vocabulary. The calligraphy is short: two headings, the five sentences, an instruction for meditation and Usui's name. The memorial stone places the principles in a wider context and uses historical key terms that carry much more meaning than you see at first glance.

The headings of the calligraphy 秘法

The first two lines of the calligraphy form the title. They tell you what the principles are meant to do.

招福
招福の秘法 shōfuku no hihō
The secret method of inviting happiness. The character hi 秘, "secret", points to deeper layers that only open up through regular practice.
靈薬
萬病の靈薬 manbyō no reiyaku
The spiritual medicine for countless illnesses of soul and mind. Man 萬 means ten thousand and stands for countless. Rei 靈 is the same character as in Reiki and points to everything spiritual. Yaku 薬 means medicine or herbs, here in a spiritual sense.

The five life principles, character by character 五戒

一
今日だけは 怒るな
Kyō dake wa · okoru na
Just for today, don't be angry.
Kyō dake wa, "just on this very day", brings your attention into the here and now. This focus on the present moment is well known from Zen, and its roots also reach into the Tendai tradition, to which Usui is said to have belonged as a lay monk. Na at the end works like an exclamation that says "let it go", rather than a strict grammatical prohibition.
二
心配すな
Shinpai su na
Don't worry.
Shinpai 心配 is made of 心, heart, and 配, to distribute, so it describes what the heart is busy with in a negative sense. When you worry, your attention is in the past or the future, and your energy follows your attention. That is why worry can be so exhausting.
三
感謝して
Kansha shite
Be grateful.
This is an invitation to actively express gratitude for all things and all experiences. Gratitude turns your attention towards what is there instead of what is missing.
四
業をはげめ
Gō wo hageme
Devote yourself to your karma.
This is the principle that is most often mistranslated. The character 業 is read gō here, as a Buddhist technical term meaning karma. In modern Japanese the same character is often read gyō, as in business or industry, which is why the sentence is frequently rendered as "work hard". In a spiritual text like this, however, the Buddhist reading is the one that fits. Put simply, Usui meant: devote yourself to your karma, to the patterns you carry and the tasks that are yours.
五
人に親切に
Hito ni shinsetsu ni
Be kind to living beings.
What I find remarkable about this principle is that it is about all living beings, including yourself. If you are harsh with yourself, you often have little strength left for others.

The instruction for meditation 合掌

After the five principles, the calligraphy gives a short instruction for meditation. It is often left out, although it is the key to the practice.

合掌
朝夕合掌して asayū gasshō shite
Put your hands together in gasshō, morning and evening. The Japanese term for morning and evening can also be understood as "continually", so the practice can be done at any time. Gasshō is a hand gesture (Skr.: mudrā) that everyone in Japan knows.
心念
心に念じ kokoro ni nenji
Hold it in your heart. Kokoro here means the spiritual heart. The character 念 nen is made of 今 "now" and 心 "heart", so you could say: come into your heart, now. This is the Buddhist invitation to contemplation.
口唱
口に唱へよ kuchi ni tonaeyo
Recite it with your mouth, that is, out loud.

If you look closely, this instruction describes the three mysteries (jap.: sanmitsu) of esoteric Buddhism: body through the gasshō mudra, speech through reciting out loud, and mind through contemplation in the heart. The calligraphy ends with the words shinshin kaizen Usui Reiki Ryōhō, the Usui Reiki method for improving body and mind, and the name of the founder, Usui Mikao.

What the memorial stone adds 碑文

The text on the memorial stone adds an important dimension. It makes clear that Usui's method shouldn't be limited to treating illnesses and bad habits. The actual point is to develop the abilities a person is born with, to perfect the spiritual heart, keep the body healthy and live a fulfilled life.

"This is truly a very important instruction in the development of the power of mind. This is the one path walked by the sages and masters of old." From the inscription on Mikao Usui's memorial stone, translation: Dr. Mark Hosak

The memorial stone describes the life principles with the term shūyō 修養, spiritual cultivation that comes from intense and continuous practice, which in Japan traditionally includes contemplation and practice in the mountains. It also says that the content should be passed on in a way that is easy to understand, using the word hikin 卑近, "close at hand, familiar". In other words, complex Buddhist ideas are made simple enough for anyone to understand and apply. That is exactly what Usui did with the gokai.

The life principles and your energy 氣

In my view all five principles point to the same thing: they help you keep your energy together. Have you ever noticed that you feel tired after being angry, or drained after worrying? When you are angry or worried, your energy flows away into these states. The principles turn this around. Gratitude turns your attention to what is there, devoting yourself to your karma directs your energy into spiritual growth, and kindness lets it flow outward without exhausting you.

That is also why it makes sense to practice the principles while you are still feeling well, and not only once you are already exhausted.

What is often misunderstood 誤解

The gokai are not affirmations that you use to talk yourself into believing everything is fine. They are meant for contemplation. What happens in you when you hear "just for today, don't be angry"? Do you feel resistance, relief or a moment of quiet? Simply noticing that is already contemplation.

They aren't a moral sermon either. The ethical effect comes by itself, as a side effect of a practice that involves the whole person. And they aren't something you do once. Kyō dake wa, "just for today", means every day anew. The sentences stay the same, but you change, and what you recognize in them deepens with every repetition. Which of the five principles is the hardest for you?

The Gokai as practice

Discover the Reiki life principles inside Shingon Reiki

In Shingon Reiki the gokai are part of the foundation: contemplation, energy work and the three mysteries of esoteric Buddhism in five simple sentences.

Who was Mikao Usui? The Usui memorial stone