Miami Tibetan Buddhists Win Right to Meditate with Help from Becket FundApr 11, 2008 On March 27, the Miami City Commission overturned an earlier decision to deny Tibetan Buddhists the ability to practice their religion in the Coconut Grove neighborhood.
“Tibetan Buddhists have enough trouble at home being able to practice their religion. We’re happy that the government of Miami recognizes that there needs to be a place for them to meditate,” said Eric Rassbach, National Litigation Director at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The Washington-based Becket Fund is a public interest law firm protecting the free expression of all religious traditions. It is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and interfaith.
On January 28, the Miami Zoning Board denied the Zab Sang Institute a permit to operate in a Coconut Grove neighborhood, citing parking conditions on the cul-de-sac when practitioners gathered to meditate.
The center is run by Chufei Tsai, a master in the Karma Kagyu Mahayana tradition, one of four major schools in Tibetan Buddhism. It is sometimes called the “Black Hat” school. Its religious leaders are Karmapa and the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, also sent the zoning board a letter in support of the Master Chufei Tsai.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty sent a letter to the Miami City Zoning Board in support of the Zab Sang Institute, stating that traffic and parking concerns did not justify shutting down the Center.
“From our review of the record,” the letter read, “we understand that the primary concerns raised in opposition to the applications are traffic and parking … however, courts have repeatedly held that traffic concerns have never been deemed compelling.”
The City’s original denial was also based on the fact that the property lies on a private road. However, the existence of numerous other religious institutions in the area negated that argument.
To read the Becket Fund letter, click here.
To read press coverage from the Miami Sun Post, click here. (PDF version here)
To arrange an interview with a Becket Fund attorney, contact Tom Carter at 202-349-7205, or 202-538-2044 (cell) or becketfund.carter@gmail.com.
For more information about The Becket Fund see www.becketfund.org. Resources & Documents
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