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. For access to the entire collection, and for downloadable audio of meditations and talks, join us as a PZI Member.
Visit the KALPA Guide for more info. To get you started, check out curated topics in the dropdown from the menu bar. Explore the PZI koan universe by searching for teachers, topics, koans, or file type—audio, video or text file. Consider the adventure of searching by using a tag.
Enjoy browsing the stacks in the KALPA!
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Zen Koan Meditation Practice
Quickly—without thinking good or evil,
What was your original face
Before your parents were born?—Zen Ancestor Huineng’s Original Face Koan
Introduction to Koan Practice: John Tarrant on Working with Koans
Introduction to Koan Practice: A koan is a piece of old wisdom in a very concise form. I think of it as a vial of ancient light that has been passed down to us. It’s the same light that was in the heart of the teacher who invented the koan. Read on
Image above – Tang dynasty scholar, Xuangzhong carrying scrolls on his back.
Image below: John Tarrant Roshi December 2020.
PZI Teacher Archives
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Allison Atwill -
David Parks -
David Weinstein -
Jesse Cardin -
John Tarrant -
Jon Joseph -
Michelle Riddle -
Sarah Bender -
Tess Beasley
New to the Library
The 4 Boundless Vows – New
Jordan McConnell plays a new guitar here or maybe an old one? It has a distinctive sound worth a listen. December 5th. 2021. 3 Minutes.
Images & Patterns in Dreams, Hakuin’s Dream
Tess Beasley comments on the way dreams of awakening can be huge or small, in image and duration. She reads Hakuin’s amazing awakening dream record from his journal. As recorded on December 5, 2021, during John Tarrant’s Dreams of Awakening Sunday session.
Dreams of Awakening – A Familiar Face from Long Ago
With dreams, whatever part touches your heart, that’s the part you want. The universe is providing these personal and archetypal myths in the perfect formulation for your awakening. Dreams help us because we can’t control them. The gold is wherever you are. As recorded December 5, 2021. Music from Michael Wilding & 4 vows from Cantor Amaryllis Fletcher & Jordan McConnell. Comments and dream stories from Allison Atwill, Tess Beasley, Michelle Riddle, and others.
Where Do Songs Come From? – A Musical Conversation
Where do songs come from? “Maybe nowhere! They are just here, waiting for us to get out of the way and let them in.” Jordan McConnell and Michael Wilding converse musically, play riffs in response to each others’ inspirations, and then share their histories, how they found meditation and music, and how one practice influences the other. Hosted by Jon Joseph Roshi on November 29, 2021.
Dreams of Awakening – Our Own Dream Is An Unfamiliar Face & The Giant Pancake
Teachers’ dreams often feature magical ways of feeding an entire community. Michelle Riddle’s remarkable giant pancake dream came after being asked to respond to a teaching from John Tarrant. Excerpt from John Tarrant’s Sunday session on dreams, on December 5, 2021.