Bhikkhu Bodhi

Early life Jeffrey Block was born in 1944 in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish parents. He grew up in Borough Park, where he attended elementary school P.S. 160 and graduated from New Utrecht High School. He then worked as a door-to-door salesman selling paintbrushes. In 1966, he obtained a B.A. in philosophy from Brooklyn College, where he first encountered Buddhism in books at the bookstore.

Career

In early 1967, while still a graduate student, Block met and moved in with a monk named Thich Giac Duc. In May 1967, he was ordained as a sāmaṇera (novice) in the Vietnamese Mahāyāna order. he received sāmaṇera ordination in the Theravāda Order and in 1973 received full ordination (upasampadā) as a Theravāda bhikkhu or monk. After that, Bhikkhu Bodhi became particularly interested in the scholarly, textual side of monastic life, and studied many Pali texts under Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero.

In 1984, succeeding co-founder Nyanaponika Thera, Bhikkhu Bodhi was appointed English-language editor of the Buddhist Publication Society (BPS, Sri Lanka). He became its president in 1988. In 2002, he retired from the society's editorship while still remaining president. In 2002, after retiring as editor of BPS, and now lives and teaches at Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel, New York. Since 2013 he has been the president of the Buddhist Association of the United States. In 2019 he again took part in the UN Vesak celebration, giving a speech that included a call to action on climate change.

In 2007, Bhikkhu Bodhi founded the organization Buddhist Global Relief. This was inspired by an essay he had written, "A Challenge to Buddhists", published in the Buddhist magazine Buddhadharma. Buddhist Global Relief funds projects to fight hunger and empower women across the world.

Selected publications

Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2007). "A Challenge to Buddhists". Lion’s Roar. https://www.lionsroar.com/a-challenge-to-buddhists/ Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2009). The Revival of Bhikkhuni Ordination in the Theravada Tradition. Inward Path.

Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2023), Noble Truths, Noble Path: The Heart Essence of the Buddha's Original Teachings. Wisdom Publications.

Wheel Publications (BPS) Nourishing the Roots and Other Essays on Buddhist Ethics (WH259/260) Transcendental Dependent Arising (WH277/278) Going for Refuge; Taking the Precepts (WH282/284) Dana: The Practice of Giving (WH367/369) Maha Kaccana: Master of Doctrinal Exposition (WH405/406) Facing the Future: Four essays on the social relevance of Buddhism (WH438/440) Bodhi Leaf Publications (BPS) Taste of Freedom (BL71) The Living Message of the Dhammapada (BL129) Discourses of the Ancient Nuns (BL143) The Good, the Beautiful, and the True (BL154)