Gyokujun So-on

Gyokujun So-on was a Soto Zen master best known as the ordaining teacher of Shunryu Suzuki, who would later found the San Francisco Zen Center and become one of the most influential Zen teachers in the West. So-on was known for his strict and demanding training style, which deeply shaped the young Suzuki's understanding of practice.

So-on's influence on Suzuki Roshi, and through him on the entire Western Soto tradition, demonstrates how the chain of personal transmission works in Zen—each teacher's character and style shapes the students who carry the tradition forward. The rigor and devotion that Suzuki brought to his American teaching had its roots in So-on's uncompromising training.