Li-Yea Bretz

Li-Yea Bretz, was born in Taipei, Taiwan and lived in Malaya and Singapore for a number of years before immigrating to Brisbane, Australia as a youth in 1975.

In 1992, Li-Yea Bretz met Sei’un Roshi in Brisbane and took up Zen practice with her in 1994. In the same year, Sei’un Roshi confirmed her kensho (‘awakening’). In 2000, Sei’un Roshi authorized Li-Yea to the role of asssistant Zen teacher and in 2006, Sei’un Roshi formally authorized her to teach, conferring the title as Zen Teacher within the Mountain Moon Zen Sangha.

In 2001, she was granted the status of assistant teacher in the Sanbo Kyodan Zen Lineage. In 2007, Yamada Masamichi Roshi, the Abbott of San’un Zendo in Kamakura, formally conferred the teaching name Sei’un An (“Clear Blue Sky”) giving her teacher status in the Sanbo Kyodan Zen Lineage. Li-Yea Bretz now receives students in the Brisbane Zendo.

Married with two children, Li-Yea Bretz also works as a Teacher in the areas of Information Processing Technology and Computing Skills in a Training And Further Education (TAFE) college. She is a trained high school teacher of Mathematics, Science and Information Processing Technology and has also worked as a Chemical Laboratory Scientist for a couple of years.