The  main branch of Seattle Meditation Center
"From no land to a large tract of land
From fallow fields to a graceful Buddhist temple
From 1 Bhikkhu to tens to hundreds to a thousand and increasing
From 100 laypeople to 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, 1 million and increasing further"
 
Almost five decades have gone past since Wat Phra Dhammakaya was founded. Wat Phra Dhammakaya's aim has always been to propagate Buddhism and Dhammakaya Meditation, which is the source of humanity's peace and happiness. 
 
In the beginning, there were only extensive fields under the hot sun with no tree or buildings. And at night, there was only the star-filled sky.
 
On Magha Puja Day, February 20, 1970, Venerable Dhammajayo Bhikkhu (Luang Por Dhammajayo), Master Nun Chandara Khonnokyoong, and their followers came together to commence the construction of a meditation center. The land for the meditation center covered 78.4 acres and was donated by Lady Prayad Pattayapongsavisuttatibodi. The meditation center became
Wat Phra Dhammakaya on 29, 1981.

AT the start of the construction, Master Nun Chandara Khonnokyoong had just 3,200 baht or around 100 US dollar. This was no different from starting from nothing at all. One of her followers asked, "How can we build a temple with this small sum of money?"Master Nun Chandara Khonnokyoong also known as Khun Yay said, " If we were to teach a person to be good, decent and devoted to Buddhism, how much would it cost?" This follower answered, "I am not sure if 100 million Baht would be enough."Khun Yay said, "Well then, right now I have in front of me 11 such individuals. It means that I have now at my disposal no less than 1 billion Baht so I have no doubt that I will be able to get this temple built."
 
AT the same time that the construction was going on, the Buddha's teachings were being taught to the people according to the concept, "Build a real temple. Teach the monks to be righteous monks. Develop good and decent people."
 
Every bit of land, every building, every merit-making activity, and every good thing that has ever come out of this temple are not the work of any one individual, but they are the collective work of dedicated monks, novices, and laypeople. The founding team members of the temple had to have possessed extraordinary vision, unshakable faith, persistence, and patience to be able to realize the dream of building the kind of temple that Wat Phra Dhammakaya is today.