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. 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 Dattajivo 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. Due to the temple's early activities having a large number of students joining and students in the 1970s tending to be leftist, for a brief period Wat Phra Dhammakaya was accused of supporting the Communist insurgency in Thailand.