Unpacking Emotional Koans
with Ekai Joel Kreisberg
A 16 Week Online Program
March 9th - July 3rd, 2025
A Path of to Freedom
Jun Po Roshi’s emotional koans offer a direct path to freedom by offering a liberating technique grounded in everyday experience. While traditional Chan and Rinzai koan practice rely on deep meditative inquiry best suited for monastery living or ninety (90) days practice periods, Jun Po Roshi’s emotional koans offer the contemporary Zen student a means for working with the emotional reactivity that arises in daily interactions. Thus, emotional koan practice is a blend of both a reciprocal dyadic exchange with a teacher (mondo meaning dialogue), and reflective work with oneself, as one learns to “get the information” within the feelings that arise when triggered in daily life and respond skillfully with compassion.
Being Truly Present For the Full Expression of Emotions
“In order to consciously respond rather than habitually react, it is essential that we experience and get the information within all our feelings – including those deeper feelings that lie underneath our habitual negative emotional reactions.”
Modern scholars of emotional intelligence, such as Daniel Goldman, Karla McLaren and Peter Salovey, teach that an essential ingredient of emotional intelligence is learning how to truly be present for the full expression of the feelings arising within the self – to bear witness, so to speak. That full experience of emotions includes sensations, feelings and thoughts, and being a witness involves being able to observe the response. Thus, the first step in emotional koan work is, with the support of zazen practice, to be more present, more mindful of what is arising within our experience. McLaren calls this embracing your emotions.
Respond with Compassion
Jun Po Roshi would say that ”(w)e need to concentrate, meditate long enough to develop the ability to remain present in the face of these feelings, stop the reactive pattern, release the contraction, and choose a compassionate, intelligent response from Clear Deep Heart-Mind.” So, not only are we to witness our reactivity, we are also instructed to let go of this response, remember that we are not separate, and then, as we more fully recognize our humanity, respond with compassion.
Our Angst is Our Liberation
From a practical perspective, we ‘practice’ our emotional koan with a facilitator, and once rehearsed, we can then tag it such that when we meet this feeling again in real time, we can now utilize our koan skills, and respond to the situation with wisdom and clarity. Thus, our angst is our liberation. Our emotional responses provide information and opportunities to embody a compassionate Bodhisattva. Welcome to the world of emotional koans.
How Is This Class Organized?
In this course, we will identify and work with koans for the entire gamut of emotional expressions. We will utilize Karla McLaren’s The Language of Emotions to do this. McLaren organizes the diversity of emotions into four broad categories, or families – The Anger Family, The Fear Family, The Sadness Family, and The Happiness Family. We will delve into each family for one month of practice using Jun Po Roshi’s emotional koan structure.
Class Organization
Sunday 10 am - 1 pm - once a month for four months - March thru June.
Our first encounter will be Sunday mornings, a three-hour class that meets once a month. We will dive into one of the emotional families through a series of exercises during this class. We will work in partners and small groups to identify the feelings and learn techniques to attune and embody the unique expression of each family of emotions. These emotional family experiences will then inform our emotional koan work. Each student will identify their own koan to work with for the month.
Two weeks after - a two hour class - date and times to be determined at the first class.
The full class will meet again two weeks later to discuss our experience working with the emotional family and the individual emotional koans. This session will be a two-hour class, the dates and times will be determined once the class is fully enrolled.
Small Group Meetings - Every Other Week
For the alternating weeks between the large group sessions, participants will meet in small groups or triads of three participants, each group will include a mentor. These small groups will convene for an hour every other week during the weeks the full classes are not meeting. In these small group meetings, each member shares their experience of their koan and deepens their experience of the challenges and opportunities emotional koans offer. Small groups provide the opportunity to practice receiving emotional koan guidance and leading another in emotional koan practice.
Online Learning Platform
All participants will be enrolled in the Shining Bright Lotus Online Learning Platform throughout the program. All full-class sessions will be recorded. Readings are posted and online forums will be offered to support collective learning.
Class Schedule
March 9th - 10 am - 1 pm
Week of March 23rd - 2-hour class to be determined
April 13th - 10 am - 1 pm
Week of April 27th - 2-hour class to be determined
May 11th - 10 am - 1 pm
Week of May 25th - 2-hour class to be determined
June 8th - 10 am - 1 pm
Week of June 22nd - 2-hour class to be determined
“This course was amazing! It was well structured and provided a wealth of information. The staff were knowledgable, supportive, and fostered a positive environment for learning and engagement. It is a wonderful avenue to learn, develop and deepen one’s meditative practice and experience.”
Registration & Course Fees
Full Fee
Fair Fee
Low Cost
About Ekai Joel Kreisberg
Ekai continues to evolve his practice to incorporate a variety of Buddhist wisdom in his teachings. His commitment to compassionate action keeps offering endless opportunity for learning and growth.
“Through your concentration-meditation practice, you become aware of and cultivate awareness of your deeper mind, develop the ability to remain non-reactive in the face of threat or insult, and have time to stop unconsciously reacting, open your eyes and your heart, clearly discern, and compassionately respond. ”
Mentors
Small Group Learning Led by Experienced Mentors
Emotional work and koan study both require intimate working conditions. With the help of trained mentors, all participants will meet in groups of three every other week of the program. Small group learning environments provide a unique container for exploration and integration. Participants will have the opportunity to both lead and receive koan instruction.
Small Group Schedule
Week staring March 16th
Week staring March 30th
Week staring April 6th
Week staring April 20th
Week staring May 4th
Week staring May 18th
Week staring June 1st
Week staring June 15th
Week staring June 29th
“This training has given me new insights into how to approach my life and my future service to the dharma. I have integrated and expanded my passion for spiritual growth and deepened my awareness. It has been a transformational and profound life event for my spiritual growth.”
Required Reading
by Karla Mclaren