Rev. Henry Toryo Adams grew up in Buffalo, Minnesota. He discovered his interest in Buddhism during a one-year high school exchange program in Chennai, India. As an undergraduate student at St. Olaf College, he began his study of Buddhist scriptures and first considered pursuing the path to the ministry. After receiving an M.A. in Buddhist Studies from the University of Michigan, he moved to Miyazaki, Japan where he worked for the Miyazaki Prefectural Government. In 2007, Rev. Adams moved to Kyoto, Japan to pursue his ministerial studies at the Chuo Bukkyo Gakuin Buddhist Seminary. Upon graduating from the seminary, he began serving as a Minister in the Buddhist Churches of America in 2010.
Rev. Adams has been serving in his current capacity as the Resident Minister of the San Mateo Buddhist Temple since 2013. Prior to coming to San Mateo, he served the Oxnard Buddhist Temple, the Buddhist Church of Santa Barbara, the San Luis Obispo Buddhist Temple and the Guadalupe Buddhist Church. He also served as Supervising Minister for the Buddhist Church of San Francisco from September 2020 to May 2023.
From September 2018 to May 2019, he served as a Chaplain Intern at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.