The Light of Asia

The Light of Asia is a book by English poet and journalist, Edwin Arnold. First published in 1879, it is an adaptation of the Lalitavistara Sūtra and was Arnold's best known work. Written as a narrative poem, the book is the story of the life of Buddha. It describes his birth as Siddhartha, prince of Kapilavastu, his first-hand knowledge of suffering, his meditation and the philosophy he taught (including that suffering is a natural part of existence), and his eventual transformation into the enlightened one. The Light of Asia was one of the first books to bring Buddhism to a Western audience, and since it's publication, has been translated into over thirty languages.

This book has 34,795 words, and was originally published in 1879.