Gosei (meditation)

Gosei (五省, go-sei^?, lit., five reflections) are traditional subjects for daily meditation at Japan's Naval Academy.

Five Reflections

These reflections were originally devised by Vice Admiral Hajime Matsushita, who was the Chief of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy. Every evening cadets are expected to meditate on these inter-related questions.^[1]

1. Hast thou not gone against sincerity
2. Hast thou not felt ashamed of thy words and deeds
3. Hast thou not lacked vigor
4. Hast thou exerted all possible efforts
5. Hast thou not become slothful

The Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) encourages the use of the Gosei as a self-reflective exercise during the course of daily living.

The crux of this contemplative practice has been translated into English and has been discussed at the United States Naval Academy.^[2]

See also

• Five Precepts

Notes

References

• Kennedy, Maxwell Taylor. (2009). Danger's Hour: The Story of the USS Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her. New York: Simon and Schuster. 13-ISBN 9780743260800/10-ISBN 0743260805; OCLC 259953844
• Smith, Peter C. (2006). Fist from the Sky: Japan's Dive-Bomber Ace of World War II. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole. 10-ISBN 0811733300/13-ISBN 9780811733304; OCLC 70986720

External links

• Precepts of Ieyasu Tokugawa