The Reiki Principles - or Reiki precepts as people sometimes call them - are a key part of any Reiki practitioner’s learning. Originally, they were created to help both practitioners and receivers of Reiki be more conscious around their attitude to everyday life, with the aim of improving emotional health and, in turn, physical health.
What are the Reiki Principles?
There are five Reiki Principles, known in Japanese as the gokai (literally go 五 - 5 and kai 戒- principles).
Kyo dake wa - Just for today
Ikaruna - Do not be angry
Shin pai suna - Do not worry
Kan shashite - Be grateful
Gyo o hageme - Do your duties
Hito ni shinsetsu ni - Be kind to others
As you can see, there are six lines contained within the Reiki principles. This is because the first line:
Kyo dake wa - Just for today
…is not a principle in itself, it is a guide for all five lines that follow. In other words, we are encouraging ourselves to live in the present moment, and we are only going to focus on each principle today, now, in this moment.
Aside from pointing towards greater presence, this helps the mind avoid the overwhelming thoughts that come when we wonder how we will manage this forever.
What is the History of Reiki Principles?
Mikao Usui, the founder of Reiki, could see that there was a link between mind and body. As he began to give Reiki to people, he noticed that the way they approached and thought about everyday life could have a positive or negative effect on the mind and body. His aim in creating these Reiki principles was to help people change how they walked through life. To let go of anger, of worry, and bring more gratitude and kindness into their interactions with everything, people, nature and themselves.
There are some buddhist principles similar to the gokai that have led people to suggest that Usui sensei didn’t create them himself. As Mikao Usui and those who knew him passed away long ago we don’t have proof either way, but it is extremely likely that these were principles he already lived by in some form, having studied in a zen temple in Kyoto for several years. After creating Shin Shin Kaizen Usui Reiki Ryoho (Usui Reiki Treatment Method for the Improvement of Body and Mind, the original name he gave his Reiki method) Mikao Usui brought these five principles together in a way that he believed would assist his Reiki practitioners and receivers to live more fulfilling and healthy lives.
Will I learn the Reiki Principles in a Reiki course?
In Jikiden Reiki courses and in many traditional Japanese Reiki courses, you will learn the Reiki Principles, though some translations in the West can differ. In Jikiden Reiki, we prefer to stick with the exact translation and explain more about it to our students during the Reiki training course rather than make any changes to accommodate the Western mind. We also teach it in the original Japanese, as it has the original kototama (literally ‘word spirit’) in it). We explain more about this in the Jikiden Reiki training as well.
Do your Duties sounds very strict, what does this mean?
This refers to our simple responsibilities in life. They can be anything from cleaning up in the house to guiding our children in life or going to work. The word responsibility also refers to our responsibility towards the natural world around us and to our own emotional and spiritual growth. It’s wide-reaching, and the often-used translation in the West about working diligently or honestly doesn’t illustrate or encompass this full meaning.
It is intended to be practiced alongside the other principles, so there is no need to suggest we do them honestly as we are already intending to ‘do our duties’ without anger, letting worry go, and with gratitude and kindness in our hearts.
How can I suddenly live by and practice all the principles?
Of course this is not an instant thing. Like anything that lasts, it takes time to integrate into our lives. The founder of Reiki, Mikao Usui suggested we recite the Reiki Principles each day, not as some kind of religious ritual, but to speak our intention, to help our whole system - mind, body and soul - remember how we intend to be in our lives.
Those people who bring the gokai into their lives do so gradually, beginning by saying them, by thinking about them and then starting to notice the moments they are not living them. Natural corrections begin to occur as we place our attention on these and, over time, we notice the bigger changes we have made.
Live the first four Reiki principles...
Chiyoko Yamaguchi, the founder of Jikiden Reiki with her son, Tadao Yamaguchi, always said that if you take care of the first four Reiki Principles, the fifth one will take care of itself. In other words, as we shed the anger, worry and bring gratitude into our hearts and into all our responsibilities in life, we come back to our natural state - and this is one of kindness.
Eventually, we hope not only to understand and live the Reiki principles but also to feel them in our body, to integrate them into our hearts, who we are and how we live.
Those people who bring the gokai into their lives do so gradually, beginning by saying them, by thinking about them and then starting to notice the moments they are not living them. Natural corrections begin to occur as we place our attention on these and, over time, we notice the bigger changes we have made.
Do I have to live by the Reiki principles to be a practitioner?
When you learn Reiki, it’s not a prerequisite that you live by the Reiki principles. However, there is so much richness in them that it is you who will lose out if you don’t. It contributes to living with less stress and more relaxation in your life.
Practising Reiki every day and having this healing energy running through you, whether you are giving Reiki treatment to yourself or someone else, will automatically begin to soften those edges and you’ll find yourself naturally beginning to live in this way. Similarly, when you hold the gokai in your heart each day, each moment, the path of Reiki is smooth and abundant.
Do I need to use the Reiki principles to be a Reiki teacher?
Originally, Mikao Usui, and his student Chujiro Hayashi, taught that the Reiki Principles were an integral part of Reiki and all those who became teachers agreed to do their best to live life with the gokai in their hearts.
Because of this, in Jikiden Reiki we also have this as one of the requirements to become a teacher. It’s not something we can test or check of course, but it is an agreement made when someone decides to learn to be a Reiki teacher.
Simplicity in traditional Japanese Reiki and the Reiki principles...
Originally, Reiki was very simple. These Reiki Principles reflect that, yet they hold so much within them. Simplicity can be deceptive. We find this as Reiki moves around the world and collects other ideas and techniques along the way. There is nothing wrong with these added aspects, but they can mislead us and pull us away from the depth within that simplicity. In this way, we miss the greater benefits.
Don’t let simplicity fool you! There is great depth hidden within that, which only you can discover for yourself.
More Frequently Asked Questions
The Reiki principles offer gentle guidance for our everyday life. They're not rules to follow perfectly or abide by, but are reminders to notice our thoughts, feelings and actions as they arise.
The first two principles invite us to not let anger and worry take us over. The rest speak to gratitude, fulfilling our responsibilities in life and kindness towards others. The phrase 'Just for today' brings the practice back to this moment, making the principles something we can actually live, one day at a time.
You can practise the Reiki principles simply by reflecting on them each day, morning and night and letting their meaning guide ordinary moments and interactions. Traditionally, practitioners recite the principles out loud - for Jikiden Reiki practitioners, in Japanese - to allow for the kototama (Shinto understanding that words and sounds hold powerful energy), pausing to consider how they affect their thoughts, feelings and actions.
You don't need to be a professional Reiki practitioner to reflect on the Reiki Principles. They can simply be a daily practice of awareness, gratitude and kindness. In Jikiden Reiki, they're part of the traditional approach to practice and personal growth.
The Reiki principles offer a gentle framework for our daily lives. We all have values that we keep to and practising simple wisdom such as this can bring awareness to let go of anger and worry, note our gratitude for what we have, do what we need to in our lives, and show more kindness towards others.
They're not intended as a promise of specific health benefits. Rather, they're traditional teachings that encourage a calm, positive way of living.
Reflecting on them regularly as a Reiki Meditation can help bring the spirit of Reiki into everyday life and lessen the unhelpful effects that holding negativity can have on the body.
Yes. They're a central part of traditional Jikiden Reiki practice. Jikiden Reiki preserves the teachings passed down through the Japanese tradition, including the Reiki principles and the phrase 'Just for today'.
For Jikiden Reiki practitioners, the principles aren't just words to recite — they're a practical reminder to bring the spirit of Reiki into everyday life, welcoming awareness, gratitude and kindness into all you do.