Bhikkhu Bodhi

Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American Buddhist monk, originally from New York City, who holds a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate School. In late 1972 he received monastic ordination in Sri Lanka, where he lived for over twenty years. From 1984 until 2002 he was the editor for the Buddhist Publication Society in Kandy, and has translated numerous texts from the Pali Canon into English, among them the complete Samyutta Nikaya. He now lives at Chuang Yen Monastery in upstate New York and teaches there and at Bodhi Monastery in northwest New Jersey. 

Ven. Bodhi has many important publications to his credit, either as author, translator, or editor. These include: A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma (1993), The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (Majjhima Nikaya, 1995), The Connected Discourses of the Buddha (Samyutta Nikaya, 2000), and In the Buddha's Words (2005). He is presently working on a complete translation of the five-volume Anguttara Nikaya, The Incremental Discourses of the Buddha.

In 2007 Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, was invited to write an editorial essay for the Buddhist magazine Buddhadharma. In his essay, he called attention to the narrowly inward focus of American Buddhism, which has been pursued to the neglect of the active dimension of Buddhist compassion expressed through programs of social engagement. Several of Ven. Bodhi’s students who read the essay felt a desire to follow up on his suggestions. After a few rounds of discussions, they resolved to form a Buddhist relief organization dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the poor and disadvantaged in the developing world. At the initial meetings, seeking a point of focus, they decided to direct their relief efforts at the problem of global hunger, especially by supporting local efforts by those in developing countries to achieve self-sufficiency through improved food productivity. Contacts were made with leaders and members of other Buddhist communities in the greater New York area, and before long Buddhist Global Relief emerged as an inter-denominational organization comprising people of different Buddhist groups who share the vision of a Buddhism actively committed to the task of alleviating social and economic suffering. For more information on Buddhist Global Relief please visit their website at: www.buddhistglobalrelief.org