Frederick Lenz

Childhood and adolescence

Lenz was born February 9, 1950, at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, California. At the age of three, he and his family moved to Stamford, Connecticut. He spent the rest of his childhood and teenage years there, attending schools in the Stamford area.

Lenz's father, Frederick Lenz Jr., worked as a marketing executive and later went on to become the mayor of Stamford from 1973 to 1975. His mother, Dorothy Lenz, was a housewife and a student of astrology. His mother and father divorced when he was seven years old, his father remarried six years later. His mother died when he was sixteen years old. Lenz spent his childhood living alternately with his father, aunt and uncle, and grandparents.

After high school, he spent a short period of incarceration in a work camp near San Diego for possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor offense which was later removed from the court records by way of a dismissal. After the work camp, he traveled to Kathmandu, Nepal and encountered a Tibetan Buddhist monk who informed him that in the future, he would help millions of people and carry on the teachings of a lineage that had almost disappeared.

Education

Lenz graduated from Rippowam High School in 1967. He later attended the University of Connecticut, where he majored in English and minored in Philosophy. He was inducted as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society and graduated Magna Cum Laude.

After college, he won a competitive State of New York Graduate Council Fellowship enabling him to continue his studies. He earned a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy from State University of New York at Stony Brook. His doctoral dissertation was on "The Evolution of Matter and Spirit in the Poetry of Theodore Roethke".

Spiritual teachings

Lenz's work, including his teaching and projects, focused on modern spiritual enlightenment through the application of Eastern religious principles. The main themes of his teaching included the practice of meditation, living and working in the world, and the enlightenment of women.

Lenz instructed students on methods for living more productive, fulfilled lives. He was an advocate of computer science and other mentally challenging professions as a means of achieving mental clarity.

Lenz wrote he first went into samadhi, or a state of spiritual absorption, at the age of 19. In his books Surfing the Himalayas and Snowboarding to Nirvana he stated that traveling to sacred locations heightened his experiences in meditation.

Beginning in 1972, he became a follower of Hindu guru Sri Chinmoy, who gave him the name "Atmananda" meaning "one who Bliss is in the Self". In 1981, after moving back to San Diego, he broke with Chinmoy and founded his own teaching center called Lakshmi.

"Self-discovery is the essential core of all of Rama's teaching", according to Zoe Nicholson. "The principle is simple; that inside of each woman and man is the Self, Nirvana, Eternity. It has been covered with layers of conditioning, lifetimes of tendencies and fear of the unknown. Through the practice of Self Discovery all these layers are peeled back eventually revealing one's true nature: perfect pure light."

Lenz is quoted as saying, "It's necessary for you to have a strong base ... the economic independence to live a life of beauty and meditative seclusion. The strength and freedom to live a life of oneness." and that, "Money is energy in today's world. A great deal of the teaching that I do is about your ability to achieve financial independence." He taught that having money was one way to help others. Throughout his 27 years as a teacher, he offered thousands of free public meditations where he introduced numerous people to meditation, some of whom became students.

At the end of 1982, he adopted the teaching name of "Rama", stating that he was not the historical Rama but rather represented a warrior quality implied in that name. He claimed to remember all of his previous reincarnations, including his life as a high priest in Atlantis, and as a teacher in ancient Egypt, India, Japan, and Tibet.

His students wrote that they witnessed him perform miracles, or siddha powers, including levitation, teleportation, disappearing, turning rooms to molten gold light, projecting light from his hands, and transforming into an old, bearded Asian man before their eyes. He often took his students on field trips to the deserts of Southern California and to Disneyland where a number of these events were witnessed. Lenz stated: “I like miracles. They inspire me. Miracles cause you to believe, to have faith in the unseen, to look further into things, deeper into things. Miracles are the fun of enlightenment. When a teacher does a miracle – an enlightened teacher – and someone sees it, they’re astonished. Suddenly they have faith in what the teacher has to say about self-discovery and spirituality and enlightenment.”

Core teachings

Lenz's core teachings focused on the practice of meditation, mindfulness, the enlightenment of women, and living and working in the world as a Buddhist practice.

The following quotes are taken from public talks he gave in the 80s and 90s:

Claimed previous incarnations

Record producer

Lenz was the producer for the rock band, Zazen. Zazen produced 31 albums in 13 years. The group also released several music videos. Although some of Zazen's albums were simply intended to be fun, new-age music, a number of their albums, such as Enlightenment, Canyons of Light, Cayman Blue, Samurai, and Samadhi, were specifically for meditation.

The band's name is taken from the Zen Buddhism term Zazen, literally, "seated meditation". Originally the band was named Nirvana until it was discovered that another band was using that name.

Criticisms and controversy

Rama received criticism from the anti-cult movement. Various accounts of Lenz portray him as a charismatic leader who tried to teach balance and compassion but found it difficult to maintain his own balance, ending his own life in 1998.

One person, Donald Cole, a 23-year-old who went to a series of widely attended public talks in 1983 in Los Angeles but never spoke directly to Lenz, felt that he was disappointed at his progress. He left a suicide note that read, "Bye, Rama, see you next time."

A small number of Lenz's students became involved with several cult watchdog groups, including the CAN (Cult Awareness Network) and deprogrammers (in particular, Joe Szimhart, who is accused of kidnapping and imprisoning several of Lenz' students, including Karen Lever).

Death and his estate

Lenz drowned in the bay next to his home on April 12, 1998. He left an $18 million estate. His will was a matter of dispute between the National Audubon Society and his estate, which was settled by a donation to the National Audubon Society, and the creation of the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism, which is headed by Dr. Lenz’s accountant, Norman Marcus (executor of his will) and Norman Oberstein, his attorney. This act fulfilled provisions of the will necessary to apply the funds from Lenz's estate to the creation of the Lenz Foundation. According to The New York Times, the will was contested by Diana Jean Reynolds, who claimed to be Lenz's widow, and Deborah Lenz, whose claim to be Lenz's widow is based on her view that they had a common law marriage. Both claims were withdrawn and dismissed. His estate was settled in 2002. The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism has engaged in substantial grant making activity (close to $6 million to date) to approximately 96 American Buddhist organizations from 2003 onwards. As part of the settlement with Audubon, a gorge was named for Lenz at the Sharon Audubon Center in northwest Connecticut.

Books

Frederick Lenz published eight books between 1979 and 1997.

Audio talks

From 1982 to 1992, Lenz created over 120 audio recordings. The topics of the talks covered a wide range of titles, including "Meditation", "Tantric Buddhism", "Career Success", "Women and Enlightenment", and "Psychic Development".

These talks were recorded as nine audio sets, six of which were also published in book form:

Video recordings

Music

Frederick Lenz produced numerous musical albums.