The Five Precepts
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
The five precepts are guidelines to live by. They are simple ideas that should be interwoven into daily life. However, Usui Mikao first wrote them as a poem in Japanese many years ago. There have been many translations, modernization, and mistranslations of these five precepts. This course will include a few different versions with explanations so that you can understand the basic idea fully and can relate it to your own everyday life.
In the book The Japanese Art Of Reiki (2005) the Stienes translate Usui Mikao’s five precepts as:
“For today only:
Do not anger
Do not worry
Be humble
Be honest in your work
Be compassionate to yourself and others”
The book goes on to explain that there are actually six precepts because of the first line, “For today only,” which points out the importance of the moment. It does not mean to do these things today and not tomorrow. Instead, realize that everyday is literally “today” and live in the present moment.
On the internet there is a web page called The Reiki Threshold which can be found at www.threshold.ca/reiki/home.html and gives a literal translation of the five precepts as well as the original pronunciation.
“Literal Translation
Inviting blessings of the secret method,
Many illnesses of the spiritual (heavenly) medicine
Today only, anger not,
Worry not. With appreciation
Do work. To people be kind
In morning at night hands held in prayer think in your mind
Chant with mouth.
Mind body change it for better
—Usui Reiki Method Founder, Usui Mikao
Romaji or Japanese Pronunciation
Shou fuku no hiihou
Manbyou no Rei yaku
Kyo dake wa Ikaruna
Shinpai suna Kansha shite
Go o hageme Hito ni shinsetsu ni
Asa yuu gassho shite kokoro ni nenji
Kuchi ni tonaeyo
Shin shin kaizen, Usui Reiki Ryoho
Chosso
Usui Mikao”
There is a web page that has these five ideals recorded and you can listen to them and learn to say them properly at this website: www.reiki.org/JapaneseTechniques/5Principles.html. Also note these pronunciations: a in Japanese is pronounced the same way we say a in the word father and e is like egg, but i pronounced like the ea in the word eat. In Japanese u is like oo in look and o is like the o in go. These pronunciations come from the book An Introduction To Modern Japanese (1977) by Osamu and Nouku Mikutani.
As you can see, it is hard to translate Japanese words into English because the two languages are so different. Therefore, it may make more sense to read the first, more modernized, version of the five precepts because it can relate to your own life easier. In Japanese these five precepts are called Gokai. The idea of Gokai is to recite the entire text or just one of the five precepts at least three times every day. However, if Japanese is not your primary language the pronunciation of Gokai may not be correct. Instead of reciting the Japanese words, you may want to turn inward and feel the concepts as principles to live by. The intent is what counts.
Traditionally there are meditations that go along with Gokai. One of these meditations is to begin while you are in the seated position called sieza. (Refer to the second of the six principles) and bring your hands to gassho (the sixth principle). Breathe calmly until you feel relaxed. Then put one hand (either one) on your forehead. Next put your other hand on the back of your head over the place where your skull ends and your neck begins. This part of your head is sometimes called the medulla oblongata. Keep all of your fingers and your thumb closed against each other. Cup your palms to the curve of your head. Do not press your hands on your head, just let them rest gently. Recite or mentally repeat one or all of the five precepts to yourself at least three times or up to five minutes while your hands are in these positions. After you have truly felt the precept(s) then lift the hand that is on your forehead off and place it on your hara without moving the hand that is on the back of your head. Feel the Earth Ki, relax, and get grounded. End by bringing both hands into gassho again.
Once this exercise begins to seem too mundane, you should start living the practice. You do not need to take time out of your day to recite the precepts if you can let them flow through your mind and reflect in your actions throughout the day. While you are going about your daily activities you should remember these five precepts. If you begin to feel rushed into the future or troubled about the past, remember “For today only...” because the past is gone and tomorrow always becomes today. If you feel angry or worried remember that these emotions are not necessary and you can feel humble and compassionate. Keep these ideas in mind with everything you do, because life is your only true work.