Generally,
the majority of Reiki practitioners speak of the “Five Principles”
– and the Japanese term most commonly used to refer to the Principles: 'gokai' [
],
reflects this.
(The 'go-' []
part of the term means: 'five'.)
However, some people have
suggested that in reality there are only four
Principles.
Other people have suggested that there are only
three.
Those who view the Principles as being only four
in number claim
that what we commonly think of as the third
and
fourth Principles should be read as one
single statement – something along the lines of:
“Do your
work with appreciation”.
Those
who consider the Principles to be only three in
number claim
that, in addition to combining the third and fourth
Principles, we should also read what we commonly think of as
the first and second Principles
as
one single statement, along the lines of:
“Just for today,
anger not, worry not.” *
Certainly,
the now-ubiquitous Japanese phrasing of the Principles - commonly
prefaced with the words: “shōfuku
no hihō, nanbyō no reiyaku” ("the
secret method of inviting blessings, the spiritual medicine of many
illnesses”)
could
indeed
allow
for such possibilities.
However,
there is another, somewhat differently-phrased Japanese version of
the Reiki Principles, dating from 1927, which most certainly does
not.
In the inscription on the
Memorial Monument which stands
to the side of the
Usui family tomb in the graveyard
at the Saihoji Temple, Tokyo, the Reiki Principles are described in a
way which
unequivocally
identifies them as being five
in number.**
.
.
______
NOTES
* These
individuals claim that the three statements: “Just
for today, anger not, worry not. Do
your work with appreciation.
Be
kind to people.” should
be referred to as gainen
[
]
i.e. 'concepts', rather than as kai
[]
- principles, precepts, admonitions, or
remonstrances.
** The
Memorial inscription also clearly uses the term gokai
to
refer to the Principles.
