Samanera Bodhesako
Encyclopedia
Sāmanera
Bodhesako (Robert Smith, known also as Ven. Vinayadhara and Ven. Ñāṇasuci in his early monastic life) was an American Buddhist monk. Born in Detroit, Michigan
, in 1939, he studied at the University of Iowa
, specializing in Literature and Creative Writing. He embraced Buddhism
in 1966 in India
, where he was ordained at the Bengal Buddhist Association of Calcutta, and spent several years as a monk in Island Hermitage
and elsewhere in Sri Lanka
. (His autobiography of his early monastic life can be found in the book called Getting Off: A Portrait.) After leaving the robe in 1971, in 1980 he again took ordination, this time in Thailand
under the Venerable Somdet Ñāṇasamvara
(Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
) of Wat Bovornives. In 1982 he returned to Sri Lanka
, living mostly in the upcountry region of Bandarawela. In 1988, while on a return journey to the United States
to join his father for the latter's eightieth birthday celebration, Ven. Bodhesako died from a sudden intestinal hernia
while in Kathmandu.
During the last years of his life he founded the Path Press
for which he edited Clearing the Path: Writings of Ñāṇavīra Thera (Colombo, 1987). For the BPS
he edited The Tragic, the comic and the Personal: Selected Letters of Ñāṇavīra Thera (Wheel Publication series No. 339–41, 1987.)
In 2008 BPS published Beginnings: Collected Essays by S. Bodhesako. This book contains all the known published and unpublished essays by S. Bodhesako: Beginnings, Change, The Buddha and Catch-22, The Myth of Sisyphus, Faith, and Being and Craving.
Writings
Translation
Samanera
A samanera ) may be translated as novice monk in a Buddhist context. The literal meaning is 'small samana', that is, small renunciate where 'small' has the meaning of boy or girl. In the Vinaya monastic discipline, a man under the age of 20 cannot ordain as a bhikkhu, but can ordain as a samanera...
Bodhesako (Robert Smith, known also as Ven. Vinayadhara and Ven. Ñāṇasuci in his early monastic life) was an American Buddhist monk. Born in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, in 1939, he studied at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, specializing in Literature and Creative Writing. He embraced Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
in 1966 in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, where he was ordained at the Bengal Buddhist Association of Calcutta, and spent several years as a monk in Island Hermitage
Island Hermitage
Island Hermitage on Dodanduwa Island, Galle District, Sri Lanka is a famous Buddhist forest monastery founded by Ven. Nyanatiloka Mahathera in 1911. It has an excellent English and German library...
and elsewhere in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. (His autobiography of his early monastic life can be found in the book called Getting Off: A Portrait.) After leaving the robe in 1971, in 1980 he again took ordination, this time in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
under the Venerable Somdet Ñāṇasamvara
Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana
Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara is the 19th and incumbent Supreme Patriarch of Thailand...
(Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
The Supreme Patriarch or Sangharaja is the head of the order of Buddhist monks in Thailand. The position is formally appointed by the King of Thailand, although the actual selection is made by senior clergymen...
) of Wat Bovornives. In 1982 he returned to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, living mostly in the upcountry region of Bandarawela. In 1988, while on a return journey to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to join his father for the latter's eightieth birthday celebration, Ven. Bodhesako died from a sudden intestinal hernia
Hernia
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....
while in Kathmandu.
During the last years of his life he founded the Path Press
Path Press
Path Press is a non-profit entity, which handles legal matters and holds the copyrights of all Ven. Ñāṇavīra Thera's writings together with some the writings from others; Path Press Publications is an independent for-profit publisher of books, Nanavira Thera Dhamma Page, and databases in the...
for which he edited Clearing the Path: Writings of Ñāṇavīra Thera (Colombo, 1987). For the BPS
BPS
BPS can stand for:In science, mathematics and technology*Base pairs, a measure of length of DNA using the number of nucleotide pairs*Basis points, equal to one one-hundredth of a percentage point...
he edited The Tragic, the comic and the Personal: Selected Letters of Ñāṇavīra Thera (Wheel Publication series No. 339–41, 1987.)
In 2008 BPS published Beginnings: Collected Essays by S. Bodhesako. This book contains all the known published and unpublished essays by S. Bodhesako: Beginnings, Change, The Buddha and Catch-22, The Myth of Sisyphus, Faith, and Being and Craving.
Work
Editor- Clearing the Path - The Writings of Ñāṇavīra TheraNanavira TheraÑāṇavīra Thera born Harold Edward Musson was an English Theravāda Buddhist monk, ordained in 1950 in Sri Lanka...
Writings
- Change - An examination of impermanence in experience. Published in 1988 by Path Press, Colombo.
- Beginnings: The Pali Suttas - Discussion of beginnings of Pali Canon. Published in 1987 in the Wheel Publication series No. 313–315 by the BPS.
- Faith: A Meditation and a Homily
- The Buddha and Catch-22 Published in 1987 by the BPS in the Bodhi Leaves series as No. 110.
- The Myth of Sisyphus: A Cycle
- Being and Craving
- Getting Off: A Portrait - Autobiography
- Stringhoppers and Rabbitholes - Collected letters
Translation
External links
- http://www.nanavira.org - Nanavira Thera Dhamma Page
- http://pathpress.wordpress.com/bodhesako/ - Writings of Ven. Bodhesako at Ñāṇavīra Thera Dhamma Page