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
Undividing the World
It’s easy to see how we divide the world. The impossible task of koans is to just be here. When you realize that, a 7,000-pound stone will feel light as a feather, and all the world will be united. With musical vows from Jordan McConnell. Recorded May 14. 2023.
Zen Luminaries: Frank Ostaseski
My primary work continues to focus on issues related to death and dying, to grief and loss, and on supporting mindful and compassionate care. Through these activities I share the precious gifts offered by my teachers, most especially the hundreds who have allowed me to accompany them in the vulnerable and sacred time of their dying. (Frank Ostaseski) Conversation hosted by Jon Joseph from April 24, 2023.
Dharma Theme: Animal Teachers
Animals give us the gifts of their living presence, and we feel the profound effect they have on our lives. Animals surprise and enlarge us. We become the animal we are seeing, and that is a primary Zen move. The way we become the world that we are part of, is a profound part of Zen.
Things I Thought I Knew
Jesse Cardin responds to the intimacy of intensely difficult moments, including frustration and delight with his son, while moving house from the mainland to Hawai’i. When everything is included, even the most difficult things, people, or events, then intimacy is possible and uncertainty is a friend. Complete session recorded May 7, 2023.
Dharma Theme: Haiku for You
Koans and poetry tumble over each other. Old Zen masters used snatches of poetry as koans. Good poetry has an objective quality and is related to koanville in that way. It does not try to persuade or recruit.