Jeffrey Block (born December 10, 1944), better known asBhikkhu Bodhi,[a] is an AmericanTheravada monk ordained inSri Lanka who teaches in the area ofNew York andNew Jersey. He is an author and Buddhist commentator and was appointed the second president of theBuddhist Publication Society.[2] He is also the president of the Buddhist Association of America and the founder ofBuddhist Global Relief.[3]
Jeffrey Block was born in 1944 inBrooklyn, New York, toJewish parents. He grew up inBorough Park, where he attended elementary school P.S. 160[4] and graduated from New Utrecht High School.[5] He then worked as a door-to-door salesman selling paintbrushes.[6] In 1966, he obtained a B.A. in philosophy fromBrooklyn College, where he first encountered Buddhism in books at the bookstore.[6] In 1972, he obtained a PhD in philosophy fromClaremont Graduate University.[7][8]
In early 1967, while still a graduate student, Block met and moved in with a monk named Thich Gic Duc.[9] In May 1967, he was ordained as asāmaṇera (novice) in the VietnameseMahayana order.[10][9] In 1971 and 1972, after graduating, he lived at a meditation center in Los Angeles, where he was introduced to a group of Theravada monks fromSri Lanka.[9] This inspired him to travel to Sri Lanka, where, underBalangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero,[11] he receivedsāmaṇera ordination in the Theravada Order and in 1973 received full ordination (upasampadā) as aTheravādabhikkhu or monk.[12] After that, Bodhi became particularly interested in the scholarly, textual side of monastic life, and studied many Pali texts under Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero.[13]
In 1984, succeeding co-founderNyanaponika Thera,[14] Bodhi was appointed English-language editor of theBuddhist Publication Society (BPS, Sri Lanka). He became its president in 1988.[1][15][16] In 2002, he retired from the society's editorship while still remaining president.[1][17][16]
In 2007, Bodhi founded the organizationBuddhist Global Relief. This was inspired by an essay he had written, "A Challenge to Buddhists", published in the Buddhist magazineBuddhadharma. Buddhist Global Relief funds projects to fight hunger and empower women across the world.[3]
Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2016).The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon.Wisdom Publications.ISBN978-1-61429-355-2.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2020).Reading the Buddha's Discourses in Pali: A Practical Guide to the Language of the Ancient Buddhist Canon.Wisdom Publications.ISBN978-1-61429-700-0.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2023),Noble Truths, Noble Path: The Heart Essence of the Buddha's Original Teachings. Wisdom Publications.
^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 chiefkalyanamittas in my life as a Buddhist monk, Venerable Nyanaponika Mahathera (1901–1994) and VenerablePiyadassi Maha Thera (1914–1998)".
^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 chiefkalyanamittas in my life as a Buddhist monk, Venerable Nyanaponika Mahathera (1901–1994) and VenerablePiyadassi Maha Thera (1914–1998)".
^ab"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.
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