The Light of Asia: The Great Renunciation (eBook)
The Light of Asia by Sir Edwin Arnold is a classic, weaves through its poetic verses the life and philosophy of Prince Siddhartha Gautama who attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree and became the Buddha. Receiving high acclaim since its publication in 1879, Edwin Arnold's work was adapted from the Lalitavistara Sutra (The Unfolding of the Play.) In the time before this work came out, little was known about Buddhism or the Buddha outside of Asia.
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About the Author
Sir Edwin Arnold (1832-1904), was an English author. After serving as principal of the government college in Pune, India, he joined (1861) the staff of the 'London Daily Telegraph'. He won fame for his blank-verse epic 'The Light of Asia' (1879), dealing with the life of Buddha. The poem was attacked for its alleged distortion of Buddhist doctrine and for its tolerant attitude toward a non-Christian religion. Besides other volumes of poetry, he wrote a number of picturesque travel books and translated Asian literature, inclding 'The Bhagavad Gita.