The Light of Asia
An Afternoon of Poetry and Reflection
Saturday 5th December 2026, 2pm – 4pm
Led by Dayasagara
The Light of Asia was the publishing sensation of the late 19th century – in fact, this epic poem sold up to a million copies in Europe and America. In a few years it not only brought the Buddha and his teachings to the attention of a popular readership; it was also admired by leading poets and other artists, and by politicians, social and religious reformers, philosophers and scientists – and gave vital impetus to the revival of Buddhism in the East well as the West.
In this afternoon of poetry and reflection, Dayasagara will introduce The Light of Asia and the extraordinary life of its author, Edwin Arnold: the sincere devotee of the Buddha, poet of Buddhist compassion and influential supporter of Buddhist causes – who was also a prominent and prolific English journalist, editor of The Daily Telegraph, promoter of African exploration, friend of international royalty… ..and believer in a British Empire which he knew must come to an end…
When
Saturday 5th December 2026, 2pm – 4pm
Where
Dublin Buddhist Centre
Unit 5, Liberty Corner
James Joyce Street
Dublin, D01 N5H6
Dayasagara began meditating in the mid-1990s and within a few years was attending retreats of the Triratna Buddhist Order and joining in meditation each weekday morning at the Dublin Buddhist Centre. He became a member of the Order in 2018.
A devotee of the arts since his teenage years, he says that his interest in music, literature etc. now seems to have prepared the way for his discovery of the Buddha’s teaching.
Suitable for:
- Anyone interested in Buddhism, poetry and the arts, regardless of level of experience.
We do tiered pricing, depending on the circumstances.
- €25 waged
- €15 unwaged / student
A €15 deposit per person of this payment is non-refundable under all circumstances.
If you wish to cancel or transfer a booking, please notify us as soon as possible on info@dublinbuddhistcentre.org
Cancellation
- If you wish to cancel your place seven days prior to the event starting, a full refund minus the deposit will be offered.
- If cancellation occurs within seven days of the event starting no refund will be available.
Transfers
- It may be possible to transfer your place to another event if we are given sufficient notice (at least four days before the event is due to start) and there are places available on the alternative event.
- If the event you wish to transfer to costs more than your original booking you will need to pay the difference at the time of transferring in order to secure your place.
- We will refund the difference if the event you wish to transfer to costs less than the original booking.
- We will only transfer a booking once and no transfer will be possible once an event has started.