December 7, 2015

To Whom It May Concern:

Enclosed are documents showing that the Meditation Center of

Alabama is a religious organization.
Our articles of incorporation state our purpose: “Teaching and
research into growth and development of mind and spirit
through meditation and to expand the knowledge of Buddhism.”
We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization affiliated with the
Dhammakaya Temple in Thailand. The Dhammakaya Temple is
one of the largest Buddhist temples in Thailand and they have
branches all around the world.
Buddhist monks and teachers at the Meditation Center are
trained by the Dhammakaya Foundation. Occasionally there are
Buddhist monks from other lineages who come to teach at the
Meditation Center, but all teachers are Buddhist and give
Dharma talks.
Enclosed are documents proving our 501(c)3 status, affiliation
with the Dhammakaya Foundation, statement letters from three
Buddhist teaching monks, and a letter signed by members from
our Buddhist congregation.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Sivaporn Nimityongskul
Director of Meditation Center of Alabama
DKF 1200/590

November 13, 2015

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is to confirm that the Meditation Center of Alabama is

affiliated with the Dhammakaya Foundation whose headquarters
is located in Pathum Thani, Thailand.

The mission of the Dhammakaya Foundation is to foster world

peace through inner peace by promoting the Buddha’s method of
meditation and teachings.

Monks and lay staff trained directly from the Dhammakaya Temple
have been teaching meditation and Dhamma at the Meditation
Center of AL for the past six years. We support the Meditation
Center of Alabama fully.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

(Ven. Dr.Varapanyo Bhikkhu) Director

International Affairs Department

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Phra Piya Piyawajako. I am a Buddhist monk who

ordained at the Dhammakaya Temple in Thailand in 2001. I
received my training at the Dhammakaya Temple and am
responsible for teaching Dharma and meditation to people from
all walks of life.

I have been teaching at the Meditation Center of AL for almost 3

years. I guide live meditation sessions and give Dharma talks on
the truths of life as discovered by the Lord Buddha.

In 2014 I visited the Meditation Center to teach live classes, give

public talks and teach two half day meditation retreats. During
these retreats, traditional Buddhist ceremonies such as alms
offering and food offering ceremonies were held.
If you have any further questions please contact me at
Dhammakaya Meditation Center (Silicon Valley)

280 Llagas Rd., Morgan Hill, CA.

Thank you.
Sincerely,

Phra Piya Piyawajako

 Dhammakaya International Meditation Center
P.O. Box 1 036.865 E. Mon rovia Pl., Azusa, CA 91702 U.S.A

Tel (626) 334-2160 Fax (626) 334-0702 www.dimc.net www.dmc.tv

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Venerable Anuchit Tikkhaviro. I am a Buddhist monk

who ordained at the Dhammakaya Temple in Thailand in 2000.
I received my training at the Dhammakaya Temple and am
responsible for teaching Dharma and meditation to people from
all walks of life.

I have been teaching at the Meditation Center of AL for almost

3 years. guide live meditation sessions and give Dharma talks on
the truths of life as discovered by the Lord Buddha.

In 2013 I visited the Meditation Center to teach live classes, give

public talks and teach two half day meditation retreats. During
these retreats, traditional Buddhist ceremonies such as alms
offering and food offering ceremonies were held.

If you have any further questions please contact me at

626-780-9296 Thank you.

Sincerely,

Venerable Anuchit Tikkhaviro

 New Jonang Buddhist Community
Comunidad Budista del Nuevo Yonán
mahamadhyamaka dbuma chenpo
Great Middle Way  Gran Vía Central

RE: MEDITATION CENTER OF ALABAMA

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

The Meditation Center of Alabama, currently at has applied to open a meditation space in a
suitable, wooded property. I am familiar with the location and the Center’s plans, and am
certain that the proposed meditation space will in no way inconvenience the neighbors. On the
contrary, it will rapidly become an asset to the local community.

The MEDITATION CENTER OF ALABAMA, 3821 Airport Boulevard, Mobile AL 36608, is a

legitimate Buddhist organization, serving both ethnic Thai and American Buddhists, providing
instruction in ethical conduct and meditation, and promoting peace and goodwill throughout
Mobile.

I recently had the opportunity to lead a three-day exploration of the Four Noble Truths and the
Eightfold Noble Path at the Meditation Center, and found the participants to be extremely
peaceful, calm, and devoted to the Buddhist principles of loving-kindness, non-harming, and
compassion.

The New Jonang Buddhist Community of North Texas, with Sanghas (congregations) in Dallas,
Plano, Hurst, and Grapevine, is a sister Buddhist organization, and humbly asks that the
Meditation Center of Alabama be accorded the rights and privileges granted by law and custom
to all religious organizations and churches in Alabama.

The undersigned is an ordained monk of the Buddha Shakyamuni and the Preceptor for the
New Jonang Buddhist Community.

May all be happy!

Ven. Tashi Nyima

10125 San Juan Avenue, Dallas TX 75228

GreatMiddleWay.gmail.com
 November 15, 2015

Mobile City Planning Commission

City of Mobile, Urban Development Department
205 Government Street
3rd Floor, South Tower
Mobile, AL 36602

Dear Commission Members:

I was asked to compose a brief statement addressing the relation of meditation practice to the
Buddhist religion.

Meditation is an essential component of the Buddhist religion. Of the four noble truths taught by
the Buddha, the fourth is that of the path of liberation. The path of liberation is also known as
the Noble Eightfold Path. The Noble eightfold path can be broken into three divisions: the path
of cultivating wisdom or prajna (Right View, Right Intention), that of cultivating ethical conduct or
sila (Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood), and that of cultivating meditative
concentration or Samadhi (Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration). These latter
three components of the Eightfold Path are all meditative in nature, with the last, Right
Concentration, involving explicit meditative absorption or jana. The fact that three of the eight
paths essential to Buddhist practice involve meditation indicates its centrality to the Buddhist
religion.
Buddhism holds that cognition alone is not able to achieve the Buddhist goal of liberation from
suffering, since the misconception of self which, according to Buddhism generates suffering, is
more subtle than cognition alone can identify. Nor can this misconception be ended simply by
withdrawing the mind from all conception, otherwise sleep or unconsciousness would remove it.
The ability to hold the mind on an object and analyze it to see whether it exists in the mode it
appears to is thus a necessary condition of Buddhist realization. This ability is cultivated through
meditation practice, which generates the dual Buddhist virtues of serenity and insight.
Numerous central Buddhist sources attest to the centrality of meditation practice in the Buddhist
religion. For example, in the Sutra Unravelling the Intended Meaning, the Buddha states:
You should know that all mundane and supramundane virtuous qualities, whether of
sravakas, bodhisattvas, or tathagatas, are the result of meditative serenity and insight.

And, in the same source:

Know that serenity and insight include all the many aspects of the states of meditative
concentration which I have taught.

In the Compendium of the Teachings Sutra, the Buddha states:

When your mind is in meditative equipoise, you will understand reality just as it is.

Likewise, Kamalasila, a major Buddhist saint, states in his Stages of Meditation that:
Because your mind moves like a river, it does not rest without the foundation of
meditative serenity; a mind that is not in meditative equipoise cannot understand reality
just as it is.

Santideva, another Buddhist saint, states in his Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds that:
The person whose mind is distracted lives between the fangs of the afflictions. The one
who knows reality has said that prayers, austerities, and such, even if practiced for a long
 time, are pointless if done with a distracted mind. Insight possessed of serenity destroys
the afflictions. Knowing this, seek serenity at the outset.

Hopefully these observations will help you in assessing the relationship between meditation and
Buddhism.

Sincerely,

Eric Loomis
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Associate Dean
College of Arts and Sciences
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL 36688
 The Meditation Center of Alabama

To Whom It May Concern:

We represent the Buddhist supporters of the Meditation Center of Alabama. We have been attending
Buddhist ceremonies and meditation events at the center since 2008.
Religious activities at the center include, but are not limited to: praying, chanting, alms offering, Dharma
talks, major Buddhist ceremonies and Buddhist meditation. The Meditation Center hosts Saturday
Chanting services and monthly Food Offering ceremonies to the Lord Buddha. Buddhist monks travel to
the center and host traditional Sunday Buddhist services.
We fully support the building of a proposed Meditation Center on 2410 Eloong Drive. The Center will bring
the community together in a peaceful way, by teaching people how to find inner peace, and disseminating
the knowledge of Buddhism.
The following are in full support of the Meditation Center of Alabama:
Sasikant L Norcross - Restaurant Manager
6614 Belwood Dr. W., Theodore, AL 36582, Tel: 251-454-4238
Wannacorn Corry - Abby’s Alteration, 1495 Creighton Road, Pensacola, Florida
Tel: 251-850-479-0840 and 251-367-8945
Manus and Kanistha Swusdee – Engineering
1860 Woodcrest Ct., Semmes, AL 36575, Tel: 251-209-5622
Suthisri Foye – Flower shop
9355 Hukabee Ave., Theordore, AL 36582, Tel: 251-709-8027
Tolbert and Naragon Ennis – Retired and Alterations
641 Hawkins Street, Pensacola, FL 32534, Tel: 850-637-4112
Sirikun Sirisompong - Restaurant Manager
763 Randall Roberts Road, Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32547
Termsak and Naphaphorn Buadaeng – Grocery Business
404 Racetrack Road, Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32547, Tel: 850-863-2013
Nongkran Amason - Retired
722 Tutedo Dr., Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32547, Tel: 850-862-9445
Sirin Schaffer – Retired nurse assistant
956 Emelda Drive, Mobile, AL 36606, Tel: 251-300-4728
Daw Nwenwe – Retired Teacher
6508 Sugar Creek Dr S, Mobile, AL 36695, tel: 251-643-6793
Khine Htoon – Translator
6508 Sugar Creek Dr S., Mobile, AL 36695 tel: 251-209-2819
Kazidet and Onuma Dhanesnit – Student
Mobile, AL tel: 251-214-2714 and 251-610-6338
Suvapa Tedseha – Restaurant Manager
120 Covey Run Place, Fairhope, AL 36532 tel: 251-259-8311
Ven. Pisit Opnititanit – Buddhist monk
10323 Boe Road, Grand Bay, AL 36541 tel: 251-709-7051
Ven. Khunawut Chimmakaew – Buddhist monk
10323 Boe Road, Grand Bay, AL 36541 tel: 251-604-7912
Ratree Titasatit - Chef
3950 Gaylark Road, Mobile, AL 36609 tel: 617-780-5501
Yuphin Peterson – Chef
5345 Highway 90, Mobile, AL 36609 Tel: 652-28-7224
Promsarn Phongsathorn – Kitchen Helper
8380 Lakemyrtle Drive, Theodore, AL 36582, Tel: 251-229-1664
Yendee Bray – Server
6660 Oaklane Drive, Theodore, AL 36582, Tel: 251-599-0033