(RNS) — Each year, thousands of members of an influential Buddhist group journey to a retreat center tucked away in the Florida wetlands seeking tranquility and spiritual enrichment.
Established in 1996 by Soka Gakkai International-USA, the Florida Nature & Culture Center sits on 118 acres sparsely populated with red-roofed buildings, where adherents pray and attend sessions on Buddhist study surrounded by the property’s 40-acre wetland conservation area.
But the center and Soka Gakkai have sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in federal court, saying a planned Corps of Engineers conservation project will dwarf the center in violation of the 1996 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, arguing that a peaceful natural environment is vital to their Buddhist practice.
The project would include an above-ground reservoir that would cover over 1,000 acres and a seven-story pump station near their property, according to the retreat center.
“The recitation of mantras (prayers) aiming to harmonize oneself with one’s environment (including the natural environment) and awaken to the inseparability of life and the environment are core tenets of Nichiren Buddhism,” reads the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court …