Understanding Usui’s Gokai: Be Diligent in Your Practice

A reflection on the fourth precept of the Gokai

The fourth precept of the Reiki Ryoho Gokai – gyo wo hageme – is often translated as “Work hard,” “Do your work honestly,” or “Be diligent in your practice.” Of these renderings, “be diligent in your practice” may best express the deeper meaning of the original Japanese phrase, gyo wo hageme.

At first glance, this precept can sound like ordinary advice about employment or productivity. Yet within the context of Usui Reiki Ryoho, it points toward something broader: the steady, wholehearted cultivation of one’s practice and one’s life.

Diligence is not about forcing ourselves to work without rest. Nor does it require perfection. Rather, it invites us to return sincerely to the practice—again and again, “Just for Today.”

The documented text

The five precepts, known as the Gokai, form the ethical and spiritual foundation of Usui Reiki Ryoho. They are traditionally (Western tradition) presented as:

• Just for today, do not anger.
• Just for today, do not worry.
• Just for today, be grateful.
• Just for today, be diligent in your practice.
• Just for today, be kind to others. (…have compassion for yourself and others.)

The fourth line is written as gyo wo hageme—a phrase that can be understood as “exert yourself in gyo” or “strive diligently in gyo.”

Our most important historical evidence for the wording of the Gokai comes from the memorial stone dedicated to Mikao Usui by his students in 1927. The inscription includes the precepts and describes them as teachings to be recited and held in the mind morning and evening.¹

It is important, however, to distinguish between what is directly documented and what is interpretive. We have limited reliable records of Usui’s own explanations of each precept. Much of our understanding comes from the wording itself, its historical context, Japanese language usage, and later research.

The connection with Suzuki Bizan

Research into the origins of the Gokai has identified a likely textual connection with Kenzen no Genri, or Principles of Health, a 1914 book by Suzuki Bizan. The book included a recitation containing several phrases that resemble the Reiki Ryoho precepts:

“Today only: do not anger, do not fear, be honest, be diligent in your duties, be kind to people.”²

The correspondence is especially close in the fourth line. Suzuki’s phrase uses shokumu wo hagemi, meaning “be diligent in your duties.” The verb hageme, meaning “exert yourself” or “be diligent,” remains essentially unchanged in the Reiki Ryoho wording.

The significant difference is the object of the verb. Suzuki’s text refers to shokumu, or one’s professional duties. The Reiki Ryoho precept uses gyo.

This is more than a simple change of vocabulary. Shokumu has a relatively specific, secular meaning: the responsibilities connected with one’s occupation or position. Gyo, on the other hand, appears in Japanese Buddhist and martial traditions in words associated with spiritual training and disciplined practice.

For example, shugyo refers to spiritual training or disciplined cultivation. Gyoja describes a person engaged in religious practice or austerity. In Zen writings, related terms such as gyoji describe sustained, continuous practice on the path of realization.³

This linguistic background provides a reasonable basis for interpreting the fourth precept as “be diligent in your practice.” Still, we should be careful. The interpretation is well grounded in language and context, but it is not a documented statement from Usui explaining exactly what he intended.

Practice rather than productivity

Diligence completes the other precepts

The Gokai can be viewed as a progression. The first three precepts ask us to observe and transform familiar patterns of:

• Anger.
• Worry.
• Lack of appreciation or gratitude.

The fourth precept asks us to sustain the effort required to work with those patterns. Without diligent practice, the precepts can remain ideas that we admire but do not embody.

It is relatively easy to feel inspired during a Reiki Ryoho class, meditation, or discussion about spiritual practice. The more demanding work begins when we return to ordinary circumstances.
– How do we respond when someone frustrates us?
– What happens when uncertainty arises?
– Can we recognize the kindness we receive?
– Are we willing to acknowledge when we have acted in a way that does not reflect our intentions?

Diligence is what carries the Gokai from reflection into conduct.

This does not mean that we must never become angry, worried, distracted, or ungrateful. Such expectations would create another form of struggle. Instead, diligence means noticing what has arisen and returning to practice without unnecessary self-judgement.

Diligence and spiritual bypassing

Reiki Ryoho is often described as a practice of trust, receptivity, and allowing. These qualities are important, but they can sometimes be misunderstood. Trusting Reiki Ryoho does not mean becoming passive or abandoning personal responsibility.

There may be a temptation to say, “Reiki will do the work,” while neglecting the work that belongs to us. We may postpone self-treatment, avoid difficult conversations, overlook the need for continued learning, or assume that intuition alone is sufficient.

The fourth precept offers a corrective. It reminds us that Reiki Ryoho practice involves our participation. We are asked to bring steady and honest effort to our development, our self-care, our relationships, and our responsibilities toward students and clients.

Diligence does not oppose surrender. Rather, the two can work together. We make the effort to show up, practice, listen, and learn. Then we allow the practice to unfold without trying to control every result (Wu Wei).

Just for today

The phrase “Just for Today” gives the Gokai a practical and compassionate rhythm. We are not required to promise that we will live perfectly for the rest of our lives. We are invited to meet the present day as it is.

This is especially important when our practice has become irregular or when we feel disappointed in ourselves. We do not need to wait for a new month, a special ceremony, or an ideal set of circumstances. We can begin again with the next breath, the next Reiki Ryoho treatment, the next interaction, or the next opportunity to choose awareness.

The daily nature of the Gokai also prevents diligence from becoming rigid. A practice that leaves no room for rest, illness, changing responsibilities, or the natural rhythms of life is not necessarily a mature practice. Diligence includes discernment. Sometimes the diligent action is to practice; sometimes it is to rest, seek support, study, or acknowledge our limits.

The question is not, “Have I done enough to prove myself?” A more useful question is, “What does sincere practice look like today?”

The practice of beginning again

“Be diligent in your practice” is a quiet but demanding precept. It asks us to move beyond enthusiasm that fades quickly and toward a relationship with Reiki Ryoho that can be sustained over time.

It reminds us that the path is not made only of extraordinary experiences. It is made of repeated, ordinary actions:

• Returning to Reiki Ryoho self-treatment.
• Repeating the precepts.
• Listening carefully.
• Learning from experience.
• Taking responsibility for our choices.
• Offering kindness where we can.
• Beginning again when we lose our way.

The word gyo gives this precept a depth that is not fully conveyed by the phrase “work hard.” It suggests disciplined practice, spiritual exertion, and the wholehearted engagement of one’s life.

Whether we are practicing Reiki Ryoho, caring for our home, tending a garden, working with others, or simply meeting the challenges of the day, we can ask ourselves: Am I bringing presence to this? Am I willing to practice rather than merely think about practice? Can I take the next step with sincerity?

This is the living heart of the fourth precept. Diligence is not perfection. It is the willingness to return—steadily, humbly, and wholeheartedly—to the practice we have chosen…

Just for today.

Footnotes

1. The memorial stone dedicated to Mikao Usui at Saihoji Temple was erected by his students in 1927. Its inscription includes the Gokai and instructions concerning their recitation and contemplation.
2. Suzuki Bizan, Kenzen no Genri (Principles of Health), published in Tokyo in 1914. The relationship between Suzuki’s recitation and the Reiki Ryoho Gokai is discussed in the World Religions and Spirituality Project’s entry on Usui Reiki Ryoho and in research by James Deacon.
3. The interpretation of gyo in relation to spiritual training is supported by its use in Japanese Buddhist and martial traditions, including terms such as shugyo, gyoja, and gyoji. This linguistic context supports the translation “be diligent in your practice,” but does not constitute a direct statement from Usui explaining his personal intent.

Sources

Usui memorial stone, Reiho Choso Usui Sensei Kudoko No Hi, translated by Hyakuten Inamoto and reproduced by Spirit of Change Magazine: “Usui Mikao’s Memorial Stone”.

Suzuki Bizan, Kenzen no Genri (Principles of Health), Tokyo: Teikoku Kenzen Tetsugaku-kan, 1914. See also the World Religions and Spirituality Project, “Usui Reiki Ryoho (Reiki Ryoho, Japan)”.

James Deacon, “Reiki Ryoho—The Five Principles” and “Kenzen no Genri,” Reiki Ryoho Pages, archived copies available through Scribd and related archival sources.

Seijun Ishii, “Gyoji Dokan: The Circle of the Way in Continuous Practice,” discussion of the Buddhist usage of gyo and gyoji in relation to Dōgen’s Shōbōgenzō: PDF resource.

The Japanese word “gyō” (or gyo) has a few different interpretations depending on the kanji character used and the context. Most commonly, it relates to spiritual practice, daily discipline, or specific kanji compounds.

Here are the primary ways to interpret the word:

• Spiritual Practice or Discipline (行)
• The most common philosophical and spiritual meaning of gyō comes from the kanji 行, which means “going,” “journey,” “conduct,” or “practice”.

The Meaning: It refers to an ongoing spiritual discipline or self-cultivation used to hone character, clear impurities, and train both the body and mind.

Context: You will often hear this in Buddhism, martial arts, or practices like Reiki (such as the phrase gyō o hageme, often translated as working diligently on your personal path or being true to your true self). It represents a lifelong journey rather than a task with a final finish line.

Editorial note: The interpretation of “be diligent in your practice” is a textually and linguistically grounded reading of the fourth precept. It is presented here as an informed interpretation rather than as a definitive, documented explanation from Mikao Usui himself.