A reflection on the fifth precept of the Gokai
The fifth precept of the Reiki Ryoho Gokai is usually rendered “Be kind to others” or “Be kind to every living thing.” These are faithful to the surface of the phrase, but they can make the precept sound like ordinary good manners, a polite add-on after the more demanding work of the first four. I would like to suggest that “Have compassion, for yourself and others” better captures what the precept asks of us when it is read alongside the rest of the Gokai.
‘Have compassion, for yourself and others’ is my own interpretation, and I will stipulate where the documented record ends and my own interpretation begins.
The documented text
The fifth line is written hito ni shinsetsu ni. Word for word, hito ni means “toward people” or “to others,” and shinsetsu ni is the adverbial form of shinsetsu, “kindness” or “kindliness.” The memorial stone erected for Mikao Usui by his students in 1927 at Saihoji Temple records the five precepts, each introduced by the phrase kyo dake wa, “just for today,” and instructs that they be recited morning and evening.¹
The stone also frames the precepts in strong terms. As translated by Hyakuten Inamoto, it describes them as a secret method of inviting happiness and a spiritual medicine for all ailments.² Whatever we make of those phrases, they indicate that the precepts were meant as a unified practice, not as a list of separate rules.
There is also a textual antecedent. Suzuki Bizan’s Kenzen no Genri (1914) contains a recitation closely resembling the Gokai, and its final line corresponds to Usui’s fifth precept. The wording of the final line appears to be essentially the same in both texts.³ Unlike the fourth precept, where gyo replaced Suzuki’s shokumu, the fifth shows no documented change of vocabulary. This matters for interpretation. If Usui adopted this line unchanged, we have no textual evidence that he gave it a special meaning of his own. The depth I am proposing comes from context and from the language, not from any recorded comment by Usui.
What the word does and does not say
Two observations follow from the wording.
First, shinsetsu is not the usual Japanese word for compassion. In Buddhist usage, compassion is commonly expressed by jihi (慈悲), a term with roots in the Sanskrit maitri and karuna.⁴ Usui’s text does not use it. Shinsetsu is an everyday word for being considerate, warm, and helpful toward others. I do not not claim that the precept secretly says “compassion” in the Buddhist technical sense.
Second, the two characters of shinsetsu (親切) are commonly understood as combining 親, associated with closeness and intimacy, and 切, associated with earnestness and something that is keenly felt. Readings of the compound along the lines of “closeness that is sincerely felt” are common, but as an etymological reflection this is interpretive.⁵
Taken together, these points support a modest but useful reading. The precept does not ask for grand altruism. It asks for a sincere, close, warm regard for the people in front of us. That is already more demanding than politeness, because sincerity cannot be performed.
Where “yourself” enters
The Japanese hito, translates as ‘people’. It does not say “yourself.” I offer “compassion for yourself” as an interpretive extension, not as a translation, and I offer three reasons why I think the extension is well grounded.
The first is the structure of the Gokai itself. Each precept begins with “just for today,” a phrase addressed to the individual reciting it. The practice is self-directed from its first word. The person reciting the precepts is the first person who has to live with them.
The second is the content of the first four precepts. Anger, worry, ingratitude, and inconsistent effort are not only patterns that affect other people. They are patterns we turn on ourselves. Many of us are angriest with ourselves, most worried about our own shortcomings, and least able to appreciate what we have actually done. The fourth precept already signals this. Diligence, as I understood it in reflecting on gyo wo hageme, means noticing what has arisen and returning to practice without unnecessary self-judgment.⁶ That is self-compassion in practice, even if it is not named as such.
The third is the practice of self-treatment. Much of Reiki Ryoho as it is taught today begins with placing our own hands on our own body. If we are asked to extend warmth to others, a practice that begins with extending attention and care to ourselves is not a contradiction of the precept but a rehearsal for it. This is a reflection on practice, not a documented statement of Usui’s intent.
The five precepts as one movement
Read in sequence, the Gokai can be seen as a single movement from the inner world outward.
The first two precepts, ikaru na and shinpai suna, ask us to notice the reactive emotions of anger and worry. The third, kansha shite, turns our attention toward what is already good in our lives. The fourth, gyo wo hageme, asks us to sustain the effort of practice. The fifth, hito ni shinsetsu ni, then describes how that inner work is meant to show up in the world.
In this reading, kindness is not a separate task. It is what the other four look like when they are lived. A person who has noticed their anger, loosened their grip on worry, cultivated gratitude, and kept returning to practice will, more often than not, treat others with more empathy. Conversely, kindness without the first four can become brittle. Kindness offered while privately seething, anxious, or depleted is often exhausting for the giver and felt as obligation by the receiver.
This is also why the self-directed reading (ie. Just for Today, I have compassion, for myself and others) matters. If we treat the fifth precept as a duty to others only, we risk a familiar trap: the helper who neglects themselves, gives beyond their capacity, and gradually resents the giving. Compassion that excludes the self is not complete. Compassion that only includes the self is not complete either. The precept, read in context, points toward a practice in which both are held together.
A contemporary parallel, offered carefully
Modern psychology offers a helpful vocabulary here, though it is not Usui’s. The researcher Kristin Neff has described self-compassion as comprising self-kindness rather than self-judgment, a sense of common humanity rather than isolation, and mindful awareness of suffering rather than over-identification with it.⁷ These ideas echo the spirit of the fifth precept, and they can help students see that warmth toward oneself is not indulgence. It should be kept clear that this is a modern framework offered for reflection, not evidence for what Usui meant.
Kindness with boundaries
One more caution. Compassion in this sense is not the same as agreeableness. The fourth precept’s emphasis on discernment applies here as well. Sometimes the kind action toward another person is a clear boundary, an honest word, or a referral to someone better able to help. Sometimes the kind action toward ourselves is rest. Kindness that cannot say no, or that avoids every difficult conversation, may be a form of avoidance that looks like virtue.
Just for today
The phrase kyo dake wa reminds us that we are not asked to be kind forever, only today. That makes the precept achievable. We can ask, at the beginning or end of the day, a few simple questions. Where did I meet someone with sincerity? Where was I harsh with myself? What would a warm and honest response look like next time?
The precept is quiet, and it comes last. But it may be where the Gokai’s practice becomes visible. Whether in a treatment room, a family kitchen, or a moment alone with our own mistakes, hito ni shinsetsu ni invites us to bring the same sincere closeness to everyone we meet, beginning with the person reciting the words.
Just for today.
Footnotes
- The memorial stone for Mikao Usui at Saihoji Temple, Reiho Choso Usui Sensei Kudoko no Hi, was erected by his students in 1927. Its inscription includes the Gokai, introduced by kyo dake wa, along with instructions to recite them morning and evening. Translation by Hyakuten Inamoto, reproduced in Spirit of Change Magazine, “Usui Mikao’s Memorial Stone.”
- Inamoto’s translation of the stone. The characterization of the precepts as a method of inviting happiness and a medicine for ailments is taken from the inscription as translated. Phrasing varies between translations.
- Suzuki Bizan, Kenzen no Genri (Principles of Health), Tokyo: Teikoku Kenzen Tetsugaku-kan, 1914. The relationship between Suzuki’s recitation and the Gokai is discussed in James Deacon’s “Kenzen no Genri” and “Reiki Ryoho: The Five Principles” (Reiki Ryoho Pages), and in the World Religions and Spirituality Project entry “Usui Reiki Ryoho (Reiki Ryoho, Japan).”
- Reference jihi as the Buddhist term for compassion, see any standard reference on Japanese Buddhist terminology. The point here is that Usui’s text uses shinsetsu, not jihi.
- The analysis of the two kanji in shinsetsu is interpretive and should be verified against a kanji dictionary (for example, a standard Japanese-English character dictionary).
- See the companion essay in this series, “Understanding Usui’s Gokai: Be Diligent in Your Practice.”
- Kristin D. Neff, “Self-Compassion: An Alternative Conceptualization of a Healthy Attitude Toward Oneself,” Self and Identity 2, no. 2 (2003): 85–101.
Sources
- Usui memorial stone (Reiho Choso Usui Sensei Kudoko no Hi), Saihoji Temple, 1927; translation by Hyakuten Inamoto, reproduced by Spirit of Change Magazine.
- Suzuki Bizan, Kenzen no Genri, Tokyo: Teikoku Kenzen Tetsugaku-kan, 1914.
- James Deacon, “Reiki Ryoho: The Five Principles” and “Kenzen no Genri,” Reiki Ryoho Pages.
- World Religions and Spirituality Project, “Usui Reiki Ryoho (Reiki Ryoho, Japan).”
- Kristin D. Neff, “Self-Compassion: An Alternative Conceptualization of a Healthy Attitude Toward Oneself,” Self and Identity (2003).
Editorial note
“Have compassion, for yourself and others” is an interpretive reading grounded in the structure of the Gokai, the wording of the fifth line, and the context of Reiki Ryoho practice. It is presented as an informed interpretation, not as a documented explanation from Mikao Usui.