Sensei Joshin Byrnes is a Zen priest and teacher in the White Plum lineage of Maezumi Roshi and Bernie Glassman Roshi and is a dharma successor of Roshi Joan Halifax. He founded Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community in 2017.

Joshin envisioned that Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community would be a hub of socially engaged Zen practice grounded in the Zen Peacemaker tradition and the practices of Not Knowing, Bearing Witness and Healing Action. To that end, the residents of Bread Loaf Mountain Zen host a free cafe in Rutland, VT. Also, BLMZC has created the Infinite Circle training program at BLMZC.

The Infinite Circle program is a plunge into bearing witness to poverty in our communities and service to those who live in the economic margins. Joshin maintains a core practice of bearing witness to homelessness by offering street retreats in cities around the country.

Professionally, Joshin has spent much of his career working for social change nonprofits in the areas of AIDS and HIV prevention, child welfare, and community based philanthropy.

Joshin is partnered with Bernie Schlager, and together they have three children and many grandchildren, which are a great joy.