600,000 people. The area has become a meeting-place for Buddhists all over the world, who join the yearly ceremonies. It was officially opened in 2000. The Grand Meditation Amphitheatre: The Grand Meditation Amphitheatre is the name of a two-storey stadium-like structure built to accommodate monks, sāmaṇeras (young novices) and people from around the world to meditate and pray. The Amphitheatre has been built around the Cetiya and can accommodate 300,000 people. It was finished in 2004. The Memorial Hall of Phramongkolthepmuni: This tall circular domed building was finished in 2003 in honor of Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro. It houses a golden statue of Luang Pu Sodh. The building is open to visitors and pilgrims. The Dining Hall of Khun Yay Archaraya Chandra Khonnokyoong: Finished in 2004, the Dining Hall of Khun Yay can seat up to six thousand monks. Every day, lay people come to offer food and refreshments to over 1,200 monks and sāmaṇera who reside at the temple. The Pariyattidhamma School: This is a school in which Buddhism and Pāli is taught to laypeople and monastics, at different levels. The school was founded in 1985. The Sixtieth Year Building: This is a building that is planned to be used for Dhammakaya meditation at an advanced level. On the roof 300,000 Buddha images have been placed. The hundredth year Khun Yai Ajan Maharatana Upasika Chan Khonnokyoong Office: , this building was in development. It is meant to be a central office building for management, but will also have educational activities in it. The spherical shape symbolizes attainment in meditation. The building has been equipped with a closed circuit water cooling system and is made of self-compacting concrete. Currently, the Dhammakaya Foundation is located here. Besides these, in the World Dhammakaya Center there are also more office buildings, a medical center, kutis for the sāmaṇera, a computer center and a broadcast center for the satellite television channel and radio channel. The construction layout of the World Dhammakaya Center has been compared with that of Wat Mahadhatu, in that the layout reflects the cosmological order and the idea of the nation. It is the intention of Wat Phra Dhammakaya to develop the World Dhammakaya Center into a meeting-place and pilgrimage place for Buddhists from all over the world, just as Vatican City is for Christians and Mecca is for Muslims. In the media Wat Phra Dhammakaya was the subject of the