The movement’s opponents are numerous and vocal, and tell a different tale. Conservative worrywarts have long warned that the sect is more like a cult, beholden to its septuagenarian abbot, Phra Dhammachayo (who is almost always seen in signature shades). They say that the conventional Buddhist teachings it issues to newcomers conceal wacky theologies unveiled to adherents once they rise in the temple’s ranks. And they allege that the temple has grown wealthy by intimating that religious merit may be bought with fistfuls of cash.