due to its size and the major fundraising the temple was doing at the time. Scholars have pointed out that the timing of the temple's fundraising may have been a cause of the criticism, as the persistent fundraising was done during the Asian economic crisis. Religious Studies scholar Rachelle Scott concludes that criticism of Wat Phra Dhammakaya can mostly be categorized as criticism on a religious organization that uses material rewards to persuade someone to believe something, and the tendency of critics to regard a religious organization's propagation as an attack on the beliefs of the community. It has been pointed out that many people are afraid that, given Wat Phra Dhammakaya's size and popularity, the temple may exert too much influence in the Saṅgha, or take over the Saṅgha. Scott has argued that criticism against Wat Phra Dhammakaya, its fundraising practices and teachings on merit-making, partly reflect historical changes in Thai society with regard to wealth and merit-making. The relation between giving and wealth is ubiquitous in vernacular Pāli literature, and many stories of exemplary donors exist, such as the stories of the bankers Anāthapiṇḍika and Jōtika. The association of wealth with merits done has deeply affected many Buddhist countries. At the turn of the twentieth century, however, perspectives of merit-making had changed in traditional Buddhist societies, as merit-making became associated with capitalism and consumerism, which had been rising in South and Southeast Asia. In the early 1990s, there was a royalist revival in Thailand, and Thai Buddhism became associated with the traditional village life and a sole rejection of material wealth, as reflected in King Bhumibol's sufficiency economy philosophy. Also, in some Buddhist countries, such as Thailand, there is a tendency among teachers and practitioners to dismiss and even revile merit-making in favor of other Buddhist teachings about detachment and attaining Niṛvāna, for which Buddhist Studies scholar Lance Cousins has coined the term ultimatism. Pāramī's and self-development According to the temple, Pāramīs (lit. "perfections") are formed when people do merits consistently, and these merits become 'concentrated' () through the passage of time. This happens when people dedicate their lives to merit-making. Wat Phra Dhammakaya does not consider pāramīs solely the domain of Buddhas-to-be, but as necessary for everyone aiming for the Buddhist goal of release from suffering. There are traditionally ten pāramīs, that is, giving, morality, renunciation, wisdom, effort, patience, truth, resolute determination, loving-kindness and equanimity. All of