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. He currently serves as Abiding Abbot of Green Gulch Farm and co-Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center. 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. 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.
