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

New to the Library

Video September 27, 2023

Zen Luminaries: Ocean Vuong – Time Is a Mother

Jon Joseph

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.

90' 27"
Video September 27, 2023

The Gift

John Tarrant

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. Recorded September 3, 2023.

39' 6"
Video September 27, 2023

Belinda & the Monster aka Beauty & the Beast

John Tarrant

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.

57' 19"
Video September 27, 2023

Unmoving Mind Means Moving Freely

Allison Atwill, Tess Beasley

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.

50' 24"
Audio September 27, 2023

The Gift

John Tarrant

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.

39' 6"