The Buddha as hero: Arnold’s The Light of Asia

With these words and the later assertion that the goal of the Buddhist Path could not be nothingness (Arnold 1902: xi), Arnold (1832-1904) laid down the lines of contest for the end of the century. Although Forbes and Knighton had said much the same, he, not they, became the touchstone for the ongoing debate. All those who wrote after Arnold were forced either to contest or echo him.