Bhikkhu Bodhi

Bhikkhu Bodhi (born December 10, 1944), born Jeffrey Block, is an American Theravada Buddhist monk ordained in Sri Lanka.

He teaches 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.

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.

In 1966, he obtained a B.A. in philosophy from Brooklyn College.

In 1967, while still a graduate student, Bodhi was ordained as a sāmaṇera (novice) in the Vietnamese Mahayana order.

In 1972, he obtained a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University.

In 1972, after graduation, he traveled to Sri Lanka, where, under Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero, he received sāmaṇera ordination in the Theravada Order and, in 1973, received full ordination (upasampadā) as a Theravāda bhikkhu or monk.

In 1984, succeeding co-founder Nyanaponika Thera, Bodhi was appointed English-language editor of the Buddhist Publication Society (BPS, Sri Lanka).

He became its president in 1988.

In 2000, at the United Nations' first official Vesak celebration, Bodhi gave the keynote address.

In 2002, he retired from the society's editorship while still remaining president.

In 2002, after retiring as editor of BPS, Bodhi returned to the U.S. After living at Bodhi Monastery (Lafayette Township, New Jersey), he now lives and teaches at Chuang Yen Monastery (Carmel, New York), and is the president of the Buddhist Association of the United States.

Bhikkhu Bodhi is founder of Buddhist Global Relief, an organization that funds projects to fight hunger and empower women across the world.