Welcome to the PZI KALPA Library!
KALPA—Koans And Liberation Project Archive—the online Zen koan library of Pacific Zen Institute, was conceived as a way of providing a wider circle for today’s far-flung seekers to sit together, to enter the same timeless questions, and to receive the teachings. Browse selected posts as a guest, or to access the entire collection, and for downloadable audio of meditations and talks, join us as a PZI Member.
Visit our KALPA Search Guide for an introduction on how to use the library.
Search the KALPA Library
PZI Teacher Archives
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Allison Atwill -
David Parks -
David Weinstein -
Eduardo Fuentes -
Jesse Cardin -
John Tarrant -
Jon Joseph -
Michelle Riddle -
Tess Beasley
New to the Library
Zen Luminaries: Ocean Vuong – Time Is a Mother
Author and poet Ocean Vuong converses with Jon Joseph about his writing, his childhood in Vietnam and the US, and his first encounter with Buddhism and its influence on his work. From his writing: “As an artist, there has to be an allegiance to wonder and awe and mystery, and a willingness to quest beyond truth.” Recorded September 11, 2023.
Belinda & the Monster aka Beauty & the Beast
John Tarrant retells the mythic story of Belinda and the Monster, Italo Calvino’s version of Beauty and the Beast. The archetypal forces personified in the story are present in all of us. Can we allow ourselves to feel all that we are? What is the monster? Where do you find yourself in the story? With comments from Allison Atwill, Tess Beasley, and PZI sangha members.
Unmoving Mind Means Moving Freely
Takuan Soho, whose death poem was one character: dream, taught the dangers of a distracted mind. Son of a samurai he understood how to lose your life. Circumstances need not be extreme. We can lose our lives every moment when we rely on devices or install veils between us and the unfixed motion of reality. Recorded September 24, 2023.
The Gift
What are the special properties of gifts? You can not force giving. And the Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. Happiness is involuntary like the grass returning. Sorrow is involuntary like autumn leaves.