A living archive of talks, koans, and teachings, open to anyone ready to sit with a question.
About the KALPA
KALPA — Koans And Liberation Project Archive — is Pacific Zen Institute's online library, built so today's far-flung seekers can enter the same timeless questions together, wherever they are.
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Every koan in the KALPA, listed alphabetically with related teachings.
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Class 6 Transcript: Vast Emptiness — Call & Response Koans
Class 6, leadership curriculum. John talks about the features of emptiness, what kinds of experiences people have, and the notion…
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Ikkyu’s Well
Tess Beasley talks about life as an endless, boundless participation. And when we settle in, things happen of their own…
Listen → Ikkyu’s Well
Tess Beasley talks about life as an endless, boundless participation. And when we settle in, things happen of their own…
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Zen Luminaries: Through a Glass Darkly, with Peter Hershock
Peter Hershock, PhD is a philosopher, scholar, and former director of the Asian Studies Development Program at the East-West Center…
Listen → Zen Luminaries: Through a Glass Darkly, with Peter Hershock
Peter Hershock, PhD is a philosopher, scholar, and former director of the Asian Studies Development Program at the East-West Center…
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Stillness
In stillness you are at the center of everything. When we meditate or listen, we are at the still point…
Listen →Stillness
When we meditate or listen, we are at the still point of the turning world. When the mind stills, the…
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The Great Thunderclap of Awakening
Fear is chief among the gates of awakening. Being in the company of a great storm enfolds us in the…
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Series 4: Dreams, Koans & The Dao
Series 4: Dreams, Koans & The Dao is a self-guided class series from John Tarrant of Pacific Zen Institute.
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I Could Tell You But You Would Blame Me Later
Be a person here. Stand in your own life. No one else can make our mistakes for us. It’s a…
Watch →I Could Tell You But You Would Blame Me Later
Be a person here. Stand in your own life. No one else can make our mistakes for us. It’s a…
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No Foundation To Rely On
Not only is disorderly consciousness boundless but also there is no foundation to rely on. How would you conduct an…
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The Voice of the Way
To be free in the dream is the great blessing of awakening, to know all it can offer us and…
Watch → The Voice of the Way
All the world’s a stage, wrote Shakespeare, and in our short time we play many parts. In Zen, we call…
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Zen Luminaries: Poet Ada Limón on Newly Published Works
Ada Limón was named the 24th United States poet laureate in 2022. Her seven volumes of poetry have been widely…
Listen →The Dark Way, the Bird Path, & the Open Hand
Dongshan’s three ways are a map of the koan universe, stages of the koan universe. When you enter the dark…
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Setting Down the Great Burden
Suddenly I realized for myself the fresh breeze that rises up when the great burden is set down.
Watch → Setting Down the Great Burden
Suddenly I realized for myself the fresh breeze that rises up when the great burden is set down.
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