Frederick Philip Lenz, III, also known as Rama (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: राम) and Atmananda (Sanskrit: आतमाननद; February 9, 1950 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

, California – April 12, 1998) was a spiritual teacher who taught what he termed American Buddhism, including the teachings of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

, and

Mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

. Lenz also was an author, software designer, businessman, and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Biography

Childhood and adolescence

Lenz was born February 9, 1950, at Mercy Hospital in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. 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.''Insights: Talks on the Nature of Existence'', p. 299 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 Gumaer Lenz, was a housewife and a student of

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

. After high school, he spent a short period of incarceration in a low security camp near San Diego for possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor offense which was later removed from the court records by way of a dismissal. According to his own account, he then traveled to

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, Nepal and encountered a

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

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 Rippowam High School was once a public high school in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. The school opened in the fall of 1961 as the second high school in the city. The school derived its name from the Native American tribe that inhabited Sta ...

in 1967. He later attended the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

, where he majored in English and minored in Philosophy. He was inducted as a member of the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

honor society in 1973 and graduated magna cum laude.''Insights: Talks on the Nature of Existence'', p 299 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 A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

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 Theodore Huebner Roethke ( ; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book ''The Wa ...

Spiritual Teachings

Lenz stated he first went into

samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...

, or a state of spiritual absorption, at the age of three.The Frederick P Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism
/ref> 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, Lenz became a student of Hindu

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

Sri Chinmoy Chinmoy Kumar Ghose (27 August 1931 – 11 October 2007), better known as Sri Chinmoy, was an Indian spiritual leader who taught meditation in the West after moving to New York City in 1964. At the end of 1982, Lenz adopted the teaching name of "Rama" and stated that he was not the historical Rama but rather represented a warrior quality implied in that name. Lenz said that he remembered all his previous reincarnations, including his life as a high priest in

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...

, and as a teacher in ancient Egypt, India, Japan, and Tibet. His students wrote that they witnessed him perform

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

s, or siddha powers, including

levitation Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...

teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction literature and in other popular culture. Teleportation is oft ...

, 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 said that the core of his teachings was contained in his books, ''Snowboarding to Nirvana'' and ''Surfing the Himalayas'', the latter was a national best-seller. The singer

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

noted that she keeps a copy of Surfing the Himalayas in her prayer room. Lenz's teaching focused on modern spiritual enlightenment through the application of Eastern religious principles. The main themes of his teachings in American Buddhism included the engaged practice of meditation, Zen, living and working in the world, and the enlightenment of women. In 1981, after moving back to San Diego, he ended his association with Chinmoy and founded his own teaching center initially 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." For 27 years, Lenz taught spiritual classes and seminars and public meditations. Although students completed college-style applications, he accepted students based on "his intuition and his sense of what each student needs." During that time, the core of the spiritual study was meditation. Lenz explained to his students, “''You concentrate so intensely, you bring your will to such a singular point that you break through all the limited mind states. You bring in so much kundalini because your focus is so intense that you snap out of the limited mental states into higher mental states, and then, of course, you experience the pure, shining void in whatever form you’re capable of experiencing it as, from your sentient mind state, and that in itself is ecstasy''.” With the primary focus on meditation, Lenz went on to put the practice itself into a wider framework: “''Meditate and realize that when you meditate, no matter how high you go, no matter how deeply you perceive, that you’re only touching the bare surface of infinity. Just hold in mind the fact that beyond your perception is ecstasy. Not far beyond. Just with the stoppage of thought there’s ecstasy—power, understanding, in limitless amounts. And no matter how far you go, you can never experience all of it. And if you dissolve the self completely, it doesn’t end.''”

Software designer

Lenz advocated students going into computer science, because of the mental challenge diverse career opportunities, and the strong pay rates. Many students became skilled programmers and went on to form their own software companies, with Lenz acting as co-designer and thought leader. These companies included AutoSys (sold to Platinum Technology in 1995), CS10000, Vantage Point (VP-Med and SmartCare), Vayu Web, and Eagle Ray Project Management Software (sold to Primavera).

Music career

Lenz was the producer for the rock band, Zazen, which produced 31 albums in 13 years. The group also released several music videos. Lenz was also co-composer of the album ''Ecologie'' (credited under "Rama") and the soundtrack for ''704 Hauser''.

Criticisms and controversy

Lenz received criticism from the sect-monitoring movement. A small number of Lenz's students became involved with several sect watchdog groups, including the CAN (

Cult Awareness Network The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was an anti-cult organization created by deprogrammer Ted Patrick that provided information on groups that it considered to be cults, as well as support and referrals to deprogrammers. It was founded in the wak ...

). Several disgruntled parents formed a group, Lenz-Watch, that "kept tabs" on Lenz because they considered him a "danger to society." The group focused on placing negative media about Frederick Lenz wherever he lived, taught, or wherever his students taught. Two of the parents paid kidnappers to deprogram their adult children with unsuccessful results.

Death and his estate

Lenz drowned in the bay next to his home on April 12, 1998, the victim of an apparent suicide. He stated that his death was a protest against how spiritual teachers are treated in America. He left a gross estate of approximately $23 million. 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 at the time was headed by 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. Claims by two persons who contested the will 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 (over $7 million to date) to approximately 140 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.

Publications

Books

Frederick Lenz published eight books between 1979 and 1997. * ''Lifetimes: True Accounts of Reincarnation'', 1979, Fawcett Crest, New York () * ''Total Relaxation: The Complete Program for Overcoming Stress, Tension, Worry, and Fatigue'', 1980, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis () * ''Meditation: The Bridge is Flowing but The River is Not'', 1981, Lakshmi Publications, Malibu, CA, Revised 1983 () * ''The Wheel of Dharma'', 1982, Lakshmi Publications, Malibu, CA () * ''The Last Incarnation'', 1983, Lakshmi Publications, Malibu, CA () * ''Insights: Tantric Buddhist Reflections on Life'', 1994, Interglobal Seminars, New York () * ''Surfing the Himalayas'', 1995, St. Martin's Press, New York () * ''Snowboarding to Nirvana'', 1997, St. Martin's Press, New York ()

Films and video recordings

* ''Tantric Buddhism with Rama'' 1993 (

ASIN Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononymously as Asin, is a former Indian actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She has received three Filmfare Awards. She ...

: B002VAMPA0) * ''Canyons of Light & Cayman Blue'' 2011 (

: B006FBYL) *''Signs of a Rebel Buddha'' (starring)

References

External links

*
The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenz, Frederick 1950 births 1998 deaths Buddhism in the United States American religious leaders People from San Diego Writers from Stamford, Connecticut People from Old Field, New York