for a ruling junta that shut down most opposition after taking power. The judicial processes against the abbot and the temple since the 1990s have led to much debate regarding the procedures and role of the state towards religion, a debate that has intensified during the 2017 lockdown of the temple by the junta. As of 2017, the whereabouts of Luang Por Dhammajayo was still unknown, and in 2018, Phrakhru Sangharak Rangsarit was designated as the official abbot. Wat Phra Dhammakaya emphasizes a culture of making merit through doing good deeds and meditation, as well as an ethical outlook on life. The temple promotes a community of kalyāṇamittas ('good friends') to achieve its vision. In its beginnings, the temple emphasized mostly the teaching of meditation, then later emphasized fundraising more. Finally, the temple broadened its activities to include more engagement in society. The temple uses a satellite television station and a distance-learning university. In its large temple complex, the temple houses several monuments and memorials, and in its construction designs traditional Buddhist concepts are given modern forms. The temple aims to become a global spiritual center to help cultivate its slogan "World Peace through Inner Peace". As of 2017, the number of followers was estimated at three million people worldwide. History Early history (1963–1996) After the meditation teacher Luang Pu Sodh died in 1959, the maechi (nun) Chandra Koonnokyoong transmitted the Dhammakaya tradition to a new generation at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen. Chaiyabun Sutthiphon, a university student at Kasetsart University, started visiting her at Wat Paknam in 1963. As the community grew, Chaiyabun was ordained as a monk in 1969 and received the name Phra Dhammajayo. Eventually Wat Paknam was unable to accommodate all of the students interested in learning meditation. Thus, on 20 February 1970, Maechi Chandra, Phra Dhammajayo, and his former senior student Phadet Pongsawat moved to the 196-rai () plot of land to found a new meditation center. Although initially they intended to a plot of land, the landowner gave a plot four times the requested size to practice generosity on the occasion of her birthday. Phra Dhammajayo later became abbot of the temple and was called Luang Por Dhammajayo from then on, and Pongsawat was ordained with the name Luang Por Dattajīvo and became deputy abbot. In 1972, the center started a program called Dhammadayada ('heirs of the Dhamma'), a meditation training program focused on university students.