work of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, which, , had thirty to fifty international centers, and through the work of Wat Luang Phor Sodh Dhammakayaram, which has two branch centers in Malaysia. Of all Thai Buddhist temples and traditions, the Dhammakaya tradition has an international presence that is one of the strongest. A characteristic that is also found both in Wat Paknam and other temples in Luang Pu Sodh's tradition, is its emphasis on lifelong ordination. Amulets The production and sale of protective amulets to finance the Dhammakaya tradition's early initiatives began with the founder of the tradition. The sale of amulets is "a common method of financing major temple building projects", states Newell. Wat Paknam, in Luang Pu Sodh's leadership, produced and sold amulets (Thai: phra khruang rang) that gained a reputation in Thailand for their alleged powers. According to Newell, Luang Pu Sodh's amulets were—and are still—widely venerated for their attributed powers, and are traded at high prices. The Phutthamonthon park effort was started under Luang Pu Sodh's leadership in the 1950s and much of the construction work done in the 1970s, being financed by amulets issued by Wat Paknam. Wat Phra Dhammakaya, after its founding in the early 1970s, has continued to aggressively market amulets with alleged magical powers for fundraising purposes. It leverages the Buddhist merit-making tradition in Thailand. Notable temples Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen () is a royal wat located in Phasi Charoen District, Bangkok, at the Chao Phraya River. Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen is the temple where Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro used to be the abbot, and still is known for its meditation lessons. The temple underwent a major change during the period that Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro became the temple's abbot, from a temple with only thirteen monks that was in disrepair, to a prosperous center of education and meditation practice. In 2008, it housed two hundred to four hundred monks, eighty to ninety samanera (young novices) and two hundred to three hundred maechis (nuns). the temple's abbot was Somdet Chuang Varapuñño, who was the acting Supreme Patriarch of Thailand (Sangharaja) from 2013 to 2017. In 2015, he was proposed by the Sangha Supreme Council as the new Supreme Patriarch, but the appointment was stalled by the junta, which cited objections by several influential former leaders of the 2014 coup d'état. The appointment was eventually withdrawn and a monk from the Dhammayuttika Nikaya appointed