SUNDAY BRUNCH: The eternal
query
Published on Aug 7, 2005
Best-selling Buddhist author
confronts the age-old questions of life while proving there is a
market for this type of subject matter
Saran
Maitreewech, known by his pen name, Dungtrin, has made a splash as
an author who has taken Buddhist-based pocketbooks to best-seller
lists and bookstores’ charts.
“Sia Dai – Khon Tai Mai Dai
Arn” (“What a Pity – Dead People Can’t Read It”), one of his eight
titles, has had 23 reprints for a total of more than 100,000 copies
since it was launched last November. Not only is it easy to read,
but it also tells the sort of story readers are searching
for.
“Many people wonder about birth, living and life after
death. They want to know why they were born like this, what would
happen to them after they die and what they should do when they are
alive,” said the 38-year-old.
He said the book is popular
because it answers these questions and more, such as why some people
are beautiful and others wealthy or smart.
“What I wrote is
nothing new. Many people might think that there are no answers to
these questions. Truth to tell, it’s all in the Buddha’s teachings,
but no one had ever compiled these nuggets of wisdom in book form
before I did,” he said.
Saran ascribes an individual’s traits
and status to that person’s karma. If one wants a comfortable life,
then one should be generous with donations and live honestly. Saran
said that people who always do good things don’t have to wait until
their next life to see the results. And by doing so, their minds
will become pure, which in turn will make their bodies
healthier.
“You can prove it by having yourself photographed
before and after starting to live a morally unblemished life,” he
said.
Saran said that “Sia Dai – Khon Tai Mai Dai Arn” was
inspired by a friend who asked him to write a small book for a
relative who was nearing his death. He said that the title attracted
many young adults because it did not allude to any one religion. He
does not aim at an exclusively Buddhist readership.
Saran has
been seriously interested in Buddhism since he was 16 years old. At
20, he asked his parents to have him ordained in a temple. His first
Buddhist-based writing began almost 15 years ago, when he wrote a
short story in a religious magazine. Writing is his hobby. He has
written articles about software programmes in computer magazines and
a few software books. Saran received his bachelor’s degree in
business computers from Assumption University and worked as a
software programmer for a few
years before starting out as a
Buddhist-based author.”
Understanding dhamma does not mean I
don’t suffer from anything. I have an allergy, I’m sometimes worried
that I can’t meet my publisher’s deadline, but I know how to cope
with these situations,” he said.
Anyone interested in his
books can visit www.dungtrin.com, which, with 10,000 hits a day, has
proven as popular as his books. Teenagers have posted links to it on
several Web boards.
A new edition of Saran’s book “Triam
Sabiang Wai Liang Tua” (“Prepare a Supply for Yourself”) will be out
this month. Some of his books have been translated into
English.
“It doesn’t matter how many books I sell; what
matters is the number of people who benefit from them,” he
said.
Theeranuch
Pusaksrikit
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