Keisaku

Keisaku

Keisaku ( Japanese 警策 ); in Sōtō-Zen : Kyosaku is a stick with which the practitioner is given two to three blows on the shoulders (shoulder muscles) during long periods of sitting in Zen training .

This warning stick , sometimes referred to as the waking stick or the compassionate stick , is used to help the practitioner overcome the lack of concentration, inattention, sleepiness, and tension that occur during prolonged zazen . On the one hand, it can help the practitioner to return to the sensation and perception of their own body and to release a cramped posture through the tapping massage; on the other hand, it also serves to consolidate the decision to persist in the Bodhisattva and enlightenment path.

The hissing and clapping sound of the falling Keisaku also has a correspondingly startling, stimulating effect on the other participants ( 警覺 ). In recent times it has also become customary in most monasteries in Japan that the recipient of the keisaku asks the bearer ( roshi , meditation leader, etc.) who walks along the rows of seats to give the cane blows by bowing with Gasshō . Both bow before and after each other. In Rinzai Zen , the meditator bends forward so that the Keisaku can hit the shoulder muscles well, in Sōtō Zen, where the meditator turns his back to the Kyosaku wearer, the practitioner bends toward the wall.

In circles that are alien to Zen, the administration of Keisaku is often misunderstood as a punishment and used as an example of the severity and warlike spirit in Zen. In fact, the blows are usually only given at the request of the practitioner. For the practitioner, the Keisaku is seen as the support of Manjusri , whose sword of wisdom , knowledge and clarity cuts through any delusion.