Affirmation · “The Subconscious Says Yes”
The Five Reiki Precepts (Gokai)
Settle and steady the mind by reciting and contemplating five daily ethical intentions — for today: do not anger, do not worry, be grateful, work diligently, be kind.
In 5 lines: Sit quietly, hands together. Recite: “Just for today, do not anger; do not worry; be grateful; work diligently; be kind to others.” Pause on each line and let it land. Repeat three times, morning and evening. Meet your slips with the same kindness the precepts ask for.
What it is
The Gokai (Japanese go = five, kai = precepts) are the five daily intentions Mikao Usui, founder of Reiki, gave his students as the ethical and attitudinal heart of his system.
Usui taught students to recite them aloud, hands together, morning and evening, and to carry them through the day. Each precept opens with the same anchoring phrase — “Just for today” (Kyo dake wa) — a deliberately small, renewable commitment rather than a lifelong vow.
Usui reportedly framed them as ideals to aim toward, not rules that produce guilt when missed. In English they are usually rendered: > Just for today: do not anger; do not worry; be grateful; work diligently; be kind to others. This entry treats the Gokai purely as what it is on its surface — a contemplative affirmation practice — and makes no claim about life-force energy. It is the genuinely sound core of Usui’s teaching.
The Method
- Sit quietly, hands together (gassho) at the heart. Usui’s students recited the precepts in gassho (palms together at the chest). Sitting upright in a chair or in seiza is fine.
- Open with the framing line. Traditionally the recitation begins with Usui’s heading: “The secret method of inviting blessings, the spiritual medicine of all diseases” (Shoufuku no hihō, manbyō no ley-yaku) — understood here simply as the traditional title of the verse.
- Recite the five precepts, often three times (Gokai sanshō = “the five precepts, three times”): - Kyo dake wa — Just for today, - Okoru na — do not anger, - Shinpai suna — do not worry, - Kansha shite — be grateful, - Gyō o hage me — work diligently / do your duties fully, - Hito ni shinsetsu ni — and be kind to others.
- Contemplate, don’t just chant. Let each line land for a breath. Where do I notice anger today? What am I worrying about that I can set down “just for today”? What am I genuinely grateful for right now?
- Repeat morning and evening. Morning sets the intention for the day; evening reviews it gently — without self-punishment for slips. (Sourcing note: the Japanese phrases and the “just for today” framing are attributed to Usui’s teaching as transmitted through the Usui Reiki Ryoho lineage. Exact English wording varies between lineages; the protocol above is a faithful description of the consistently-taught recitation, not a reproduction of any one manual.)
Source & Lineage
Mikao Usui (1865–1926) developed the Gokai as part of Usui Reiki Ryoho, reportedly after his 1922 contemplative retreat on Mount Kurama. They passed to Chujiro Hayashi and, via Hawayo Takata, to global Reiki lineages, which retain the precepts almost unchanged even where other elements diverge.
Common refinements
Rote chanting without contemplation. The value is in pausing on each line, not in speed.
- Turning ideals into a stick. Usui framed these as aspirations; missing a day is not failure. The “just for today” reset is the whole point.
- Treating “do not worry” as suppression. Aim is to set worry down for today, not to deny that it exists — name it, then release it.
- Skipping the evening sit. The gentle evening review is where the day’s slips get met with kindness rather than guilt.
- Over-formalising. No Reiki attunement or ritual is required to benefit from the precepts; the words and the daily rhythm carry it.