Jiryu Mark Rutschman-Byler is a Soto Zen Buddhist priest and teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, with Dharma Transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman.
He lives and teaches at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center and is mentor and preceptor to the Montaña de Silencio Sangha in Medellín, Colombia. For many years he served as the head teacher of the Buddhadharma Sangha of San Quentin State Prison.
On March 11-12, 2023, Jiryu will be installed as Abiding Abbot of Green Gulch Farm and co-Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center.
Jiryu has trained in Zen temples in the U.S. and Japan since 1996. He was ordained a priest in 2002 by Seido Lee deBarros, began teaching as shuso under Myogen Steve Stucky in 2008, and in 2014 received full authorization to teach, completing Dharma Transmission with Sojun Mel Weitsman. Along with these core teachers, he is also indebted to many other teachers associated with the San Francisco Zen Center and other American Zen institutions. As recounted in Two Shores of Zen, in 2002-2004 he had the opportunity to train in Zen temples in Japan, namely at Bukkokuji (Obama, Japan) and Hokyoji (Echizen-Ono, Japan).
Jiryu holds a Master’s Degree in Asian Studies from UC Berkeley (2014), where he worked under the mentorship of the Group in Buddhist Studies on Buddhist texts in classical Chinese and modern Japanese. His thesis research focused on Nishiari Bokusan and the development of Soto Zen in Japan during the Meiji Period (1868-1912). He is the author of the book Two Shores of Zen about his experiences in 2002-2004 as an American-trained monk practicing in Japanese Zen monasteries. Other writing of his has appeared in Buddhadharma, Lions’ Roar, and elsewhere.
with Myogen Steve Stucky, 2008
with Seido Lee deBarros, 2001