Ferenc Bodó 

Assistant Lecturer at Dharma Gate Buddhist College
(Buddhist meditation, Buddhist philosophy, reading specialized texts in English)
I first encountered Buddhism at the age of eighteen when a dear friend handed me The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. The subject matter, combined with the knowledge that the book’s owner had passed away at a young age, profoundly shook my ambitions of accumulating wealth. At the time, I was a senior student at a vocational secondary school for commerce, and standing on the threshold of graduation, I could hardly wait to leave behind the world of financial statements scrutinizing economic profit.
I discovered Dharma Gate Buddhist College in 2001 while browsing a university admissions guide within the haunted walls of a Victorian house in North London. Shortly before that, I had taken up a position as an au pair for the two sons of a practicing Jewish-English couple who lived there.
I began my studies at Dharma Gate in 2001, where, as part of the then four-year Buddhist teacher training program, I became acquainted with the history, fundamental teachings, and various schools of Buddhism. Meanwhile, the religious philosophy specialization—fulfilling my adolescent aspirations—offered a rich array of world religions’ doctrines as well as the diverse systems of Eastern and Western philosophies.
In the summer of 2005—following my Buddhist comprehensive exam—I decided to postpone my college studies, as I felt that at the age of twenty-three, without significant life experience, it would not be realistic for me to become a qualified Buddhist teacher. Consequently, I set my sights on England once again, thinking I would return home after a brief year abroad.
That planned one year, however, turned into an entire decade. During this time, I lived in Cambridge, London, and Bristol, working as a gardener, courier, waiter, academic administrator, and assistant lecturer. Alongside my jobs, I completed my studies at Dharma Gate and earned a master’s degree in Buddhist Studies from the University of London. In essence, I managed to acquire the missing quantity and quality of life experience.
During my years in England, my interest gradually shifted more and more towards Theravāda Buddhism. This eventually became so serious that I suddenly found myself in a Theravāda monastery in Sri Lanka, where I spent nearly a year. My time among Buddhist monks fundamentally reshaped my previous understanding—not only of monasticism but also of Buddhism itself.
Following my Sri Lankan adventure, I became a scholarship student at the Doctoral School of Philosophy at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE). I completed my doctoral coursework in 2021. Currently, I am working on my doctoral dissertation titled “

Lélekvándorlás lélek nélkül a páli skolasztikában”

(Rebirth Without a Soul in Pali Scholasticism.)