forgotten but has been revived by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro. This method is called Vijja Dhammakaya. Several scholars, states Martin Seeger, have described the disputes and relationship between the mainstream Thai Sangha and the Dhammakaya tradition as reflecting "intolerance and undermining freedom of religion". According to Seeger, the teachings and practices of the Dhammakaya tradition temples deviate from the Theravāda tradition, and the different interpretations of Buddhist canonical texts have triggered a heated debate in the Thai media and in the Sangha Council, a smear campaign and the purging of "religious others". Of these, Wat Phra Dhammakayathe most influential in this regardhas been accused by Payutto of "distorting Buddhist ideas, insulting Buddha's teachings", and showing "disrespect to the Pali canon". Besides Payutto, other critics have included a number of "Thai scholars, academics, monks and social critics". Payutto has been criticized in return by a number of Thai academics and news commentators for being "narrow-minded", "attached to scriptures", "dogmatist" and a "purist". Also, Thai columnist Sopon Pornchokchai has accused Payutto of performing sloppy research. Methods of propagation Luang Pu Sodh introduced Dhammakaya meditation, which is the core of the Dhammakaya tradition. Besides the technique of meditation itself, the methods through which Luang Pu Sodh taught have also been passed on to the main temples in the tradition. The tradition has an active style of propagation. Teaching meditation in a group, teaching meditation during ceremonies, teaching meditation simultaneously to monastics and lay people, and teaching one main meditation method to all are features which can be found throughout the tradition. Newell relates that Luang Pu Sodh was the person who set up the maechi community at Wat Paknam, which is currently one of the largest maechi communities in Thailand. Although Luang Pu Sodh encouraged women to become maechis, maechis did have to spend quite some time doing domestic activities, more so than monks. This orientation echoes in Wat Phra Dhammakaya's approach to female spirituality, praising Maechi Chandra as an example of a meditation master, but at the same time not supporting the Bhikkhuni ordination movement. Besides Wat Paknam's attitudes with regard to female spirituality, Wat Paknam's international orientation also became part of its heritage. The temple ordained several monks coming from the United Kingdom, and maintained relations with Japanese Buddhists. Currently, Wat Paknam has branch centers in the United States, Japan and New Zealand. This international orientation was also continued through the