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The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery

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"The Fifth Agreement" is the sequel to "The Four Agreements," which outlines a simple foundation for a happy life that anyone can implement regardless of one's religion or lack of one. They convey the core of the Toltec shamanic tradition in a nutshell: Be impeccable with your word; don't take things personally; don't make assumptions; and do your best.

Don Miguel Ruiz wrote that bestseller 12 years ago, and now has written "The Fifth Agreement" with his son, don Jose. The fifth agreement is deceptively simple, yet incredibly profound. It states, "Be skeptical but learn to listen." While the first four agreements deal with our relationship to ourselves and how to create a happy life, the fifth agreement deals with our relationship to others, and how to create a better world.

"The Fifth Agreement" asks us to be skeptical and use discernment when listening others, and to understand that everyone has his or her own perspective and agenda reflected in their words. It is up to us to discern the truth behind the words, but always to be respectful of another's right to his or her views, even if we don't share them. Each of us is the artist of our own life, the director of our own play, and we can make it an adventure or a drama - heaven or hell, it's up to us.

The first part of the book reviews the first four agreements, discussing how the meanings we attribute to symbols define us culturally. The second part of the book delves into the more advanced concepts of the Toltec mystery school, including the Fifth Agreement, Victims, Warriors, Masters and Seers. All the concepts are explained in ways that anyone can understand and, hopefully, implement in one's life.

I had the opportunity to ask don Miguel in an interview for New Consciousness Review why he didn't include the fifth agreement in his first book. He said, "It wasn't the time." The fact that he decided that it is now the time, implies that we are finally ready as a society to learn to listen to each other and to respect our differences. Combined with the prescription for living joyfully offered by the Four Agreements, we really could have heaven on earth. This powerful little book shows the way, and makes it all sound possible.

I just this minute finished reading don Miguel's new book, The Fifth Agreement, for the first time. It opens with a recap of the first four agreements, which is a little draggy if you've read The Four Agreements three times, but which is still worth reading because it is a reminder of the ramifications of the four agreements, and a chance to refocus on them in a new light. The fifth agreement, be skeptical, but learn to listen, is a stealth stunner.It seems simple and basic, but it's one of those that if carried to it's obvious conclusion, leads to complete freedom. In sum, it is a great book, a book to read, and reread, and read again. It is a book to practice and to live.
Don Miguel has a great knack for taking "keep it simple, stupid" to it's optimum.
Get it. Read it. Live it.

This is a wonderful book. Although there is some repeat of information from Ruiz's book "The Four Agreements," there is also a lot of new and very insightful content. In particular, I got the sense that Don Miguel Ruiz's son Don Jose, and the other co-author, Janet Mills, brought another dimension to the work that clearly added value to the book. As such, I highly recommend The Fifth Agreement as a spiritual growth resource. Here's one of my favorite passages:

"Let's say you're living with guilt and shame for a mistake you made ten years ago. The excuse for your suffering is, "I made a terrible mistake," and you're still suffering for something that happened ten years ago, but the truth is you're suffering from something that happened ten seconds ago. You judged yourself again for the same mistake, and of course the big judge says, "You need to be punished." It's simple action-reaction. The action is self-judgment; the reaction is self punishment in the form of guilt and shame. All your life you repeat the same action, hoping to have a different reaction, and it never happens. The only way to change your life is to change the action, and then the reaction will change."

Many years ago I read Ruiz's "The Four Agreements, A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom". I was so impressed by the simple, but deep wisdom of the Four Agreements that I sent copies to each of my twenty-some children. I think they received them much as anything of this sort is received from a parent.

A friend recently gave me a copy of The Fifth Agreement. I wondered why they put out another one as the first seemed enough for a lifetime, but it did not take me long to understand.

The first part of the book is a revisiting of the Four Agreements. Like a lot of things in life it never hurts to back over the basics. The Four Agreements are essentially the foundation for the Fifth Agreement.

Again the book is simple yet profound. None of the Five Agreements is something we do not know about. The trick is remembering them and living them.

For me, at least, the book is best read in multiple sessions. I read each chapter as meditation. Like a meditation each chapter can be read again.

The book is spiritual, but not religious. It embraces and rejects religion all at the same time. At least that is my dream of how it read.

As I read the book, I could not help but see the confluence of Buddhism ant Toltec wisdom. Is it surprising, or is not surprising that similar concepts / wisdom developed at different times in different cultures.

The next question is why do I say this? Both approaches emphasize being in the moment. Impeccable speech strikes me as Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, and Right Thought in the Buddhist tradition. They phrase it differently, but they both address quieting the clattering monkey mind.

There is a comment towards the end of the book about life is not about suffering, but that life is to be enjoyed. I don't know if this is a swipe at the Buddha's primary premise or not. I do think for a vast number of folks life is suffering. Buddha said that when we let go of our attachments this suffering diminishes or goes away. Then life can be enjoyed (my words). I do not feel that is that far away from the letting go of the symbols we hold so dearly that may be feeding us lies.

My take on it is that it is two different set of symbols, but they end up in the same place

Simple wisdom for complex times.

The fifth agreement is a good book but my disappointment was that 40% of the book was a repeat of the Fourth Agreement. If you never read the Fourth Agreement it would be an excellent buy would encourage it. It is still an informative book.

A phenomenal read, ground breaking look at the workings of the mind and how it can takes us away from the Truth.
A must read for any Mystery School seeker.

The Four Agreements along with all the other books written by Don Miguel Ruiz have elevated everyone I have passed them on to. These books have done amazing things for my life. And now to continue to strive for true happiness and freedom along comes The Fifth Agreement. This book is well beyond worth the read, and once you've done that pass it on!!!

For those who have noticed that one's person's truth seems to be another's lie. If you are like me, then you have become confused by this notion and wondered whether there is a Truth that is common to us all and how to align one's self to this Truth. Perhaps you have been connected to this Truth and realized that it, in fact, lies within you. Then perhaps you have come to the realization that this authentic Self which is an embodiment of the Truth is not so easy to unfold as it is covered by layers and layers of spoon fed beliefs and conventional assumptions since childhood. Often these beliefs and assumptions conflict with each other, giving rise to a nagging doubts about what is real or imagined, even concerning our very self. Perhaps we have once had an elusive sense of understanding during which we have felt what life could be and truly is, but from lack of being able to conceptualize it, we have forgotten its substance and lost the living creative power of this inner knowledge. For a subject as complex and daunting as the very nature of reality as we know it, and the role our beliefs (or owned assumptions) play in shaping our own reality, "The Fifth Agreement" does a great job in explaining it all. Furthermore this sequel to "The Four Agreements" promises a Fifth Agreement which, although more abstruse then the preceding four, has the potential of guiding us towards finding who we really are (Our Authentic Self) in all the perfection of our "imperfect" individual Self.

This is a wonderful book. I have been reading The Four Agreements for several years, and this book puts it all together. My life has been changed. Thank you to the Ruis family for sharing this knowledge with me.

I was very disappointed to discover that this was just a summary of all of Don Miguel Ruiz's previous books, all of which I have read. If you haven't read them then I would say that this is a "Cliff's Notes" version and is worth your time. If you have read his prior books, reread them and don't waste your time with this one.