also: きょうさく · こうざく · きょうしゃく
Zen stick; warning stick; encouragement stick
A flat wooden stick used in Zen meditation to strike or alert a sitter who is drowsy or unfocused. Called けいさく in Rinzai Zen and きょうさく in Soto Zen. Abbreviation of 警覚策励.
horsewhip
Only with reading けいさく
Rare, archaic meaning; restricted to reading けいさく. Not commonly used in modern Japanese.
During zazen I felt drowsy, so I had the Zen stick applied to my shoulder.
The keisaku is used to encourage practitioners.
In old documents, there are examples of 警策 used to mean a horsewhip.
Standard kanji spelling for the Zen stick; reading けいさく is the most common.
Reading used in Soto Zen context.
Rare reading; lists it without further context.
Obsolete kana usage; it is out-dated.
Abbreviation of 警覚策励 (keikaku sakurei), a Zen term meaning 'to awaken and encourage'. The exact historical derivation of the readings is uncertain.