Sāmanera Bodhesako (born Robert Smith, 1939–1988; known also as ''Ven. Vinayadhara'' and ''Ven. Ñāṇasuci'' in his early monastic life) was an American Buddhist monk. Born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, in 1939, he studied at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, specializing in Literature and Creative Writing. He embraced

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

in 1966 in India, where he was ordained at the Bengal Buddhist Association of

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, and spent several years as a monk in

Island Hermitage Island Hermitage on (Polgasduwa) Dodanduwa Island, Galle District, Sri Lanka is a famous Buddhist forest monastery founded by Ven Nyanatiloka Mahathera in 1911. It’s a secluded place for Buddhist monks to study and meditate in the Buddhism, B ...

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 Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

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 , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. During the last years of his life he founded the

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 non-profit publisher of book ...

for which he edite
Clearing the Path
Writings of Ñāṇavīra Thera (Colombo, 1987). For the BPS he edite
The Tragic, the comic and the Personal
Selected Letters of Ñāṇavīra Thera (Wheel Publication series No. 339–41, 1987.) In 2008 BPS publishe
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 Thera Ñāṇavīra Thera (born Harold Edward Musson; 5 January 1920 – 5 July 1965) was an English Theravāda Buddhist monk, ordained in 1950 in Sri Lanka. He is known as the author of ''Notes on Dhamma'', which were later published by Path Pres ...

Writings
Beginnings: Collected Essays by S. Bodhesako
:
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
* - Autobiography
Stringhoppers and Rabbitholes
- Collected letters Translation
Dhammapada in English Verse
Published Work
Getting Off, A Portrait of an American Buddhist Monk
Path Press Publications, 2012,
Stringhoppers and Rabbitholes, Letters of a Wayfarer
Path Press Publications, 2013,
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.
The Buddha and Catch-22
Published in 1987 by the BPS in the Bodhi Leaves series as No. 110.

External links

- Nanavira Thera Dhamma Page

- Writings of Ven. Bodhesako at Ñāṇavīra Thera Dhamma Page {{DEFAULTSORT:Bodhesako, Samanera Clergy from Detroit 1939 births 1988 deaths University of Iowa alumni Converts to Buddhism American Theravada Buddhists American Buddhist monks 20th-century Buddhist monks