Barbara Seie (pronounced Say Yay) is an ordained Buddhist priest in the Shingon (Japanese Vajrayana) Buddhist tradition and a 2021 graduate of the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Certificate Program (MMTCP).  She is also an associate professor in the International Department of Utsunomiya University, Japan, where she teaches gender studies, writing and contemplative inquiry.

Born in the United States, Barbara graduated from college with a degree in Philosophy and International Relations before arriving in Japan in 1980.  There she taught English and began work in Japanese translation.  On her return to the states she worked in commercial real estate and head-hunting in New York City before earning an M.A. in Japanese Literature (Columbia University) and a Ph.D. in English Literature (University of North Dakota).

It was on sabbatical in 2018 – 2019 during a period of intense Buddhist practice at Dragons Nest Sanctuary (located on the island of Ko Samui in Thailand and managed in partnership with Ian Baker) that she wrote Nature’s Narrative: Well-Being in Body Speech & Mind, a revelatory text that lies at the heart of both her vision and practice.

In her heartfelt desire to alleviate suffering for all sentient beings, Seie draws on her compassionate realization, professional experience and love of teaching to empower students in their own cultivation of well-being – a cultivation that brings joy to self and other in the realization of the divine interconnectivity that exists between our own (inner) human nature and the (outer) nature of our planet.