The Five Principles of Usui, Japanese text, translation and comment

Shoufuku no hihoo
Manbyo no ley-yaku
Kyo dake wa
Okulu-na
Shinpai suna
Kansha shite
Goo hage me
Hito ni shinsetsu ni
Asa yuu gassho shite kokoro ni neji kuchi tonaeyo
Shin shin kaizen, Usui Reiki Ryoho
Chosso Usui Mikao

Shoufuku no hihoo – The secret way to invoke happiness
Manbyo no ley –yaku – The spiritual solution for all the diseases of body and mind
Kyo dake wa – Just for today
Okulu-na (okuru ) – Do not get angry
Shinpai suna – Do not worry
Kansha shite – Show gratitude for life
Goo hage me – Work hard
Hito ni shinsetsu ni – Be kind to others
Asa yuu gassho shite kokoro ni neji kuchi tonaeyo –
Be seated in the gassho position ( or relaxed with a straight spine ) and repeat these five principles loud and out from your heart

Why follow these principles?

Everybody who follows the course also has been given these principles. You can ask yourself why again in life you ended up with a new set of rules while you probably started doing the course to become more free in life. The beautiful thing with these principles is that nobody will ever oblige you to live according to them. You are absolutely free to never pay attention to them. There is no guru, teacher, sensei, philosophy or religion that presses you to do that. But when you give them a chance, take note of them now and then, apply them when you remember them, you will notice that life becomes more lighter, easier, more natural. The Reiki course is meant to make you more independent when you want to heal yourself. It is the next step in taking responsibility for your own life. Life or energy can flow much more easy and natural. This is the case with almost everybody. We are never finished improving this. These five principles will help you to live life to its fullest. We all do the Reiki course to enhance the flow of energy, to improve the quality of life. Imagine that you never wanted to change the things in your life that hold you in your place, keep you locked up in your situation. Working with Reiki would not improve life so much then. Your old habits would continually confront you with the same situations in life. This is why these five principles were important for Usui and his pupils. And this is why they are important for us also. When you free energy with a Reiki healing and you take notice of these principles you can use that energy for a new and fuller experience of life. Try it, you may like it!

Just for today

This little sentence stimulates us to live in the now. Today I do the best I can do, I let go of the past. In the now I am open for life and do everything to the best of my knowledge. I do not dwell on the past and stop identifying with it so that I can observe more clearly the root of my distress and unhappiness. When I do that I am much more capable of taking responsibility for my life in this moment. Every day is a new opportunity to live life to the fullest in the most natural way. It doesn’t matter what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow, every day is a new start.

Do not get angry

When you are angry, you are not connected with the Source, your true Self. It makes no sense not to acknowledge anger or not to express it. Anger that is not expressed surges through the body and mind, wreaking havoc. It is therefore best to take note of it, to acknowledge its presence and discover its source.
Fear is paralyzing, anger has more power in it then fear. Anger is power directed to unwanted situations. It can be focused to well-being and preferred situations as soon as we are willing to make that decision. Nearly always, anger springs from the imperfect or incomplete manifestations of our desires with which we strongly identify and which stimulate our feelings of unhappiness and frustration. It is therefore best to take note of it, acknowledge its presence and discover its source. Then we can look at it and decide to change direction. This other direction we can find if we are able to see the connection between our state of being, our ‘vibrational mix’ so to speak, and our desires and wishes. The better we can do this, and discover that our happiness evokes other things in life then our dissatisfaction and unhappiness, the more easy it becomes for us to choose and accept the result of that choice. If we succeed in this where the small things in life are concerned, because we are increasingly aware of the way in which anger is aroused and how to deal with it, this approach will also help us solve life’s bigger problems. Because nearly all anger and aggression which is aroused within us clouds the mind and makes our life less clear, it is best not to arouse anger within others. Anger evokes anger, peace evokes peace. Of course justified anger exists, it is not necessary to accept situations or actions from others that we do not want. Everybody is entitled to defend themselves in every situation. we are entitled to defend our body, our mind and our spirit. But anger is often a mechanism that keeps aggression and violence with us. There is the possibility to defend without anger. This will keep us with a clear state of mind and in the presence, the now. The ultimate defense without anger is being focused on what we do want in a way that our feelings can come to vibrate with what we want. It makes a huge difference if people start protesting against nuclear war or taking action to make peace. Their attention is focused on a new situation that is wanted and can be allowed much more easier while protest against something will create feelings of disallowance. In that state it is much more difficult for anything to show up. It Is the same in our personal lives. It is better to focus on qualities that we do like in our partner because then the relationship can become even better, then focus on all the unwanted things. Because in that situation we ourselves will not be able to receive happiness either. If we make it a habit to be open for the best in every possible situation and in every person then it is likely that we will encounter less and less situations that arouse anger. Our ‘vibrational mix’ will not allow that any longer. Anger is bondage and restriction. Joy is connection and freedom. Sometimes we have to be angry, so we take that step and then walk away from it as soon as we can.

Do not worry

If we use our mind in an efficient way, we approach life efficiently. We use our mind to differentiate and express life. The correct use of our mind eliminates the possibility to dwell on the past and worry about the future. When we succeed in this, we live in the present which means we can focus all our attention on the life directly in front of us. Everything that made us unhappy or unsatisfied yesterday may effect us still today, but if we learn to be in the present we are open for the solution of a problem or we can accept a present situation or fact of life. When we direct our mind to whatever brings us joy, we bring harmony in life as we are experiencing it. This harmony is real and effects all life that is surrounding us. If all life is connected, al spirit and mind is connected also. If we block our mind by worrying we also block life. If we use our mind correctly we are more open to experiencing the Essence. All the power that we are able to use is available when we are in the Now. Everything that keeps us from being in the Now, like worrying about yesterday or tomorrow, will dissipate this power. Worrying doesn’t make things better. It is far more effective to direct our mind towards what we do want in life. Sometimes it is tempting to keep directing the mind towards our troubles and keep worrying. But when we start focusing on what we do want the solutions of our problems must come closer because we are open for it.

Show gratitude for life

The more insight we gain in life, the more we realize how little we know. The essence of life is a perpetual wonder, and the more we know how little we know, the more we realize the extent of this wonder and are grateful that we can experience this. Gratitude for life is expressed by treating life with love and respect. Our own life, everyone else’s life, nature and the entire creation. Also objects around us which seem lifeless: our house, our bicycle, the city, the countryside etc. The most natural way to show gratitude is to be aware of it through our natural way of expressing life, and through this state be connected with all life around us. Gratitude is essential for the manifestation of well being and abundance. Without showing gratitude for the things life already provided for, how small or insignificant they may seem, we block the manifestation of our desires. The way we can show gratitude in life indicates how much we trust life, and with this also our state of allowing and our capacity to receive what we have asked for.

Work hard

What is the work? The ultimate work in the life of a human being is to become conscious of who he really is, and express this consciousness in a natural way by expressing his talents. We are Essence that expresses itself and wants to know itself through creation. Pure joy, pure peace and awareness. The work that has to be done for this is always right in front of us. Everything we experience in life is that work and the way and the school to become conscious of who we really are.
Only when we except our present situation in life, with all the lessons it contains, with all the joy and sorrow in it, is it possible for us to enter the next level in the school of life. For all the growth in life we need to make an effort, the work to know who we really are. There are no two people the same, that is why the work is different for everyone. The most important thing that can happen in the work is that our perspective on life and on ourselves is changing. We are used to rely on and trust the work on the outside, our action in the world, our doings. The result of those actions makes how we are going to feel. As soon as we are able to see things from the inside out and are able to be happy and joyous whatever results are there in the outer world, creation will follow effortlessly. We have to listen to our emotions. Our emotions are a beacon on our path to discover the Essence of ourselves. Our most pure feelings of joy and oneness will inevitable lead us toward Essence. We have to reach for this, step by step, experience after experience. How? This is different for everybody. Creation is endless variety and diversity. Only we can reach for the best feeling we personally experience. Joy that is felt independent from the manifestation of our desires but simply is an expression of Essence is true freedom. Our state of freedom can never harm anyone else. We never have to be afraid that our joy affects other people in a negative way. Misery never made anybody feel joy. But joy itself is contagious. We have to chose to be open, open for well-being and joy, no matter what, no matter how circumstances look like. No matter how abundant or how poor life appears to be. We have to focus on what makes us open, living and completely present. We have to trust that what we want in life is meant to be there for us. Action, situations and circumstances that belong to that will follow in a natural effortless way. This is our real work, all the rest will follow.

Be kind to others

Treat others the way you wanted to be treated yourself. In other words “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”. The way we treat others reflects the way we treat ourselves. And the way we treat ourselves is reflected in the way the universe treats us. On the outside no man is equal and inside no man is equal. But in our essence we are all one and connected with all other beings and life. There are many ways to respect and honor the essence that connects us all but that does not mean we have to neglect the outside.
Ones upon a time there lived a man who recognised that everyone and everything was in essence the same. He danced in ecstasy while a wild elephant was approaching on the road ahead. The elephant trampled upon the man and he died. In heaven he stood before the Lord and cried indignant “I realized the nature of everything, I recognized the same Essence in all beings and still I had to die. God answered “ you recognized the Essence but did not respect the way it expresses itself. It is natural for a wild elephant to wreak havoc, it is natural for a man to get out of the way of the wild elephant”. It is like this in our normal everyday life. To respect a thief is to respect and regonize his nature to steel things from us. We can not let a thief handle our purse and be surprised when he steals our money. Also it is no love at all when we allow others to be disrespectful and to harm us. We have to love ourselves, respect ourselves, so others can recognize this in us and treat us with love and respect also.