Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk, ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York and New Jersey area. He was appointed the second president of the Buddhist Publication Society and has edited and authored several publications grounded in the Theravada Buddhist tradition.
Bhikkhu Bodhi | |
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Personal | |
Born | Jeffrey Block December 10, 1944 Brooklyn, New York, United States |
Religion | Buddhism |
Nationality | American |
School | Theravada |
Education | Brooklyn College Claremont Graduate University |
Occupation | scholar-monk; president, Buddhist Publication Society |
Senior posting | |
Teacher | Ven. Ananda Maitreya |
Based in | Buddhist Publication Society Sangha Council of Bodhi Monastery Yin Shun Foundation |
Predecessor | Ven. Nyanaponika Thera (BPS editor and president) |
Successor | Mr. Kariyavasam (BPS editor),[1] P.D. Premasiri (BPS president) Buddhist Publication Society |
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Life
In 1944, Block was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish parents. He grew up in Borough Park, where he attended elementary school P.S. 160.[2] In 1966, he obtained a B.A. in philosophy from Brooklyn College. In 1972, he obtained a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University.[3][4]
In 1967, while still a graduate student, Bodhi was ordained as a śrāmaṇera (novitiate) in the Vietnamese Mahayana order.[4] In 1972, after graduation, Bodhi traveled to Sri Lanka where, under Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero,[5] he received sāmaṇera ordination in the Theravada Order and, in 1973, he received full ordination (Upasampadā) as a Theravāda bhikkhu or monk.[3]
In 1984, succeeding co-founder Nyanaponika Thera,[5] Bodhi was appointed English-language editor of the Buddhist Publication Society (BPS, Sri Lanka) and, in 1988, became its president.[1][3][6] In 2002, he retired from the society's editorship while still remaining its president.[1][4][6]
In 2000, at the United Nations' first official Vesak celebration, Bodhi gave the keynote address.[7]
In 2002, after retiring as editor of BPS,[4] Bodhi returned to the United States. After living at Bodhi Monastery (Lafayette Township, New Jersey),[8] he now lives and teaches at Chuang Yen Monastery (Carmel, New York), and is the president of the Buddhist Association of the United States.[3][9]
Bhikkhu Bodhi is founder of the organization Buddhist Global Relief, which funds projects to fight hunger and to empower women across the world.[10]
Works
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (1989). The Discourse on the Fruit of Recluseship (The Samannaphala Sutta and Its Commentaries). Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 978-9552400452.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu; Bhikkhu, Ñāṇamoli (1995). The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 9780861710720.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (1998). Great Discourse on Causation: Mahanidana Sutta and Its Commentaries. Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 978-9552401176.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu; Thera, Nyanaponika (2000). Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya. Altamira Press. ISBN 978-0742504059.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 9780861713318.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2001). The Buddha and His Dhamma. Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 978-9552402012.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2006). The Noble Eightfold Path: Way to the End of Suffering (3rd ed.). Pariyatti. ISBN 978-1928706076.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2007). The Discourse on the All-Embracing Net of Views: The Brahmajala Sutta Commentarial Exegesis (2nd ed.). Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 978-9552400520.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2012). The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Anguttara Nikaya. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 9781614290407.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2000). A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The Abhidhammattha Sangaha of Ācariya Anuruddha. Pariyatti. ISBN 978-1928706021.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2005). In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 9780861714919.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2016). The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 9781614293552.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2016). The Discourse on the Root of Existence: The Mulapariyaya Sutta and its Commentaries (3rd ed.). Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 978-955-24-0064-3.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2017). The Suttanipata: An Ancient Collection of the Buddha's Discourses and Its Canonical Commentaries. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 9781614294290.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2017). Investigating the Dhamma: A Collection of Papers. Pariyatti. ISBN 978-1681720685.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2017). Dhamma Reflections: Collected Essays of Bhikkhu Bodhi. Pariyatti. ISBN 978-1681720326.
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2020). Reading the Buddha's Discourses in Pali: A Practical Guide to the Language of the Ancient Buddhist Canon. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 9781614297000.
See also
References
- "About BPS". Buddhist Publication Society. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6U8-GTX5Puw , time 6:53.
- "Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi". Bodhi Monastery. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- "Climbing to the Top of the Mountain". The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. Archived from the original on April 17, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- In Bodhi, Connected Discourses (2000), p. 5, Bodhi dedicates the tome to "the memory of my teacher Venerable Abhidhajamaharatthaguru Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Mahanayaka Thera (1896–1998) and to the memories of my chief kalyanamittas in my life as a Buddhist monk, Venerable Nyanaponika Mahathera (1901–1994) and Venerable Piyadassi Maha Thera (1914–1998)".
- "BPS "Newsletter" (1st Mailing 2008, No. 59)" (PDF).
Note: The author [Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, related to the article "The Buddhist Publication Society of Kandy: A Brief Account of Its Contributions to Buddhist Literature," pp. 4–7] served as the editor of the BPS from 1984 until 2002 and has remained its president since 1988.
- "Lecture on Vesak Day by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi". Buddhanet. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- McLeod, Melvin, ed. The Best Buddhist Writing 2008, p. 333. Shambhala Publications, 2008. ISBN 9781590306154. Accessed May 10, 2017. "Bhikkhu Bodhi, an American Buddhist monk, was ordained in Sri Lanka in 1972.... He currently lives at Bodhi Monastery in Lafayette, New Jersey."
- "BAUS President Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, 2013 -". Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- "Buddhist Global Relief". Retrieved May 24, 2015.