His books are read by Thais aged 10 to 90. He has been called the bridge connecting dharma to the younger generation.

More than 300,000 copies of "Sia Dai - Khon Tai Mai Dai Arn" ("What A Pity - Dead People Can't Read It"), first published in 2004, have been sold, making Dungtrin one of today's best-selling Buddhist authors. Today, the book's second volume is on the top-10 list at leading bookstores.

"Sia Dai" touches readers with its age-old questions like "What is the purpose of life?" and "Why are we born male or female?" and "Where do we go when we die?" But the penname Dungtrin doesn't seem to have stuck in many people's minds - most call him "Sia Dai".

In 10 years, Saran Maitreewech, a former designer of software games, has written 17 books, many of which can be read via his website, www.Dungtrin.com, which gets something like 10,000 hits a day.

"At 17 I was anxious about what to do with the rest of my life," Saran says. "I didn't want to do the normal things, like getting married or having children. Libraries were my favourite places, where I could become engrossed in soul-searching books about the tao and Buddhism.

"At last my suffering over what to do with my life faded away. I had a purpose - to study dharma thoroughly. Living life with a purpose was more important than having a career. I found out later that dharma can provide all the answers I needed in life - including what makes me feel most alive."

By Analaya

Sunday Xpress