Frederick Philip Lenz, III, Ph.D., also known as Rama

Rama

Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

and Atmananda (February 9, 1950 in San Diego, California - April 12, 1998), was a spiritual teacher who propounded a syncretic blend of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

, Zen, Vedanta

Vedanta

Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...

, and Mysticism

Mysticism

Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...

 which he called "American Buddhism". Lenz was also an author, software designer, businessman, and record producer.

Summary of his beliefs and work

The body and focus of his life's work, including all his teaching and projects, was officially centered around conveying enlightenment

Enlightenment (spiritual)

Enlightenment in a secular context often means the "full comprehension of a situation", but in spiritual terms the word alludes to a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God, profound spiritual...

 to those who were interested. He based his teachings on ancient practices within a modern framework. He was considered to be a tough and demanding teacher by his students, who have compared him to the Tibetan Buddhist teachers Marpa

Marpa Lotsawa

Marpa Lotsawa , sometimes known fully as Lhodak Marpa Choski Lodos or commonly as Marpa the Translator, was a Tibetan Buddhist teacher credited with the transmission of many Buddhist teachings to Tibet from India, including the teachings and lineages of Vajrayana and Mahamudra.-Biography:Born as...

 and Padmasambhava

Padmasambhava

Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...

. He reportedly did not have hard and fast rules, other than to meditate, to live with etiquette (having honor and reverence for life and others), and to translate the enlightenment empowerments into a successful life, defined by him as a life of solitude, joy, oneness, and abundance.

Lenz remains a controversial figure. His behavior drew much criticism from the anti-cult movement

Anti-cult movement

The anti-cult movement is a term used by academics and others to refer to groups and individuals who oppose cults and new religious movements. Sociologists David G...

, but thousands of people from all over the world were attracted by his teachings.

Lenz ultimately, though, drew criticism, not from the anti-cult movement, but from his inner circle of followers who spread his message and who claim to have been scarred from his increasingly abusive behavior. His admirers and detractors, particularly those who actually knew him early on in his career, seem to agree that he was a complex, brilliant, charismatic leader who tried to teach balance and compassion, but somehow found it difficult to maintain his own balance and compassion, as sometimes happens with great teachers, and the pain killers and other drugs eventually led to his tragic suicide.

Books

Frederick Lenz published eight books between 1981 and 1997.

• Lifetimes - True Accounts of Reincarnation - 1979, Fawcett Crest, New York, NY (ISBN 0-449-24337-0)
• Total Relaxation - The Complete Program for Overcoming Stress, Tension, Worry, and Fatigue - 1980, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, IN (ISBN 0-672-52594-1)
• Meditation - The Bridge is Flowing but The River is Not - 1981 Lakshmi Publications, Malibu, CA, Revised 1983 (ISBN 0-941868-00-1)
• The Wheel of Dharma - 1982 Lakshmi Publications, Malibu, CA (ISBN 0-941868-01-X)
• The Last Incarnation - 1983 Lakshmi Publications, Malibu, CA (ISBN 0-941868-02-8)
• Insights - Tantric Buddhist Reflections on Life - 1994 Interglobal Seminars, New York, NY (0-9642196-7-0)
• Surfing the Himalayas - 1995 St. Martin's Press, New York, NY (ISBN 0-312-14147-5)
• Snowboarding to Nirvana - 1997 St. Martin's Press, New York, NY (ISBN 0-312-15293-0)

Surfing the Himalayas has been published in 10 languages. The book also reached number eleven in the Publisher’s Weekly charts.

Audio Talks

From 1982 to 1992 over one hundred audio recordings were created by Rama - Frederick Lenz. 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 six audio sets, which were also published in book form:

• Lakshmi Series 1982, 30 Talks (ISBN 1932206116)
• Insights - Talks on the Nature of Existence 1983, 13 Talks (ISBN 1932206078)
• On the Road with Rama 1985, 7 Talks (ISBN 1932206051)
• Zen Tapes 1986, 18 Talks (ISBN 1932206035)
• Tantic Buddhism 1989, 27 Talks (ISBN 1932206094)
• The Enlightenment Cycle 1992, 12 Talks (ISBN 1932206019)

Childhood and adolescence

Lenz was born February 9, 1950, at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

. He had an older brother and a sister. At the age of three, he and his family moved to Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...

. 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 1973-1975. His mother, Dorothy Lenz, was a housewife, a student of astrology

Astrology

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...

. His mother and father divorced when he was five years old, his father remarried six years later. His mother died later on when he was fourteen years old. He, therefore, spent his childhood living alternately with his father, aunt and uncle, and grandparents.

In his late teens, he often spoke of becoming so disgusted with his life that he became thoroughly committed to going beyond illusions forever. He states in his video "How to be a Straight-A Student" that his form of rebellion, as is the case with most teenagers, was self-destructive. He also states that there is an intelligent way to rebel against the boredom and grayness of the human condition through hard work, enthusiasm, curiosity and a continual progression into newness. After high school, according to The Hartford Courant

The Hartford Courant

The Hartford Courant is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is a morning newspaper for most of the state north of New Haven and east of Waterbury...

he spent "a short period of incarceration in a work camp near San Diego on a drug conviction." Psychology Today

Psychology Today

Psychology Today is a bi-monthly magazine published in the United States. It is a psychology-based magazine about relationships, health, and related topics written for a mass audience of non-psychologists. Psychology Today was founded in 1967 and features articles on such topics as love,...

reports that "Lenz was busted for selling marijuana and sentenced to a year at a work camp. (The arrest was later expunged, allowing him to claim that he had no criminal record.)"

Education

Lenz attended schools in the Stamford area, graduating from Rippowam High School in 1967. He later attended the University of Connecticut

University of Connecticut

The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...

, where he majored in English and minored in Philosophy. He supported himself through graduate school by building dulcimer

Appalachian dulcimer

The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...

s. 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

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 (M.A.) and a Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 from State University of New York at Stony Brook

State University of New York at Stony Brook

The State University of New York at Stony Brook, also known as Stony Brook University, is a public research university located in Stony Brook, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, about east of Manhattan....

. His doctoral dissertation was on "The Evolution of Matter and Spirit in the Poetry of Theodore Roethke

Theodore Roethke

Theodore Roethke was an American poet, who published several volumes of poetry characterized by its rhythm, rhyming, and natural imagery. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book, The Waking.-Biography:...

".

There were three members on the doctoral dissertation committee at Stony Brook: Lewis Simpson, Paul Dolan and Gerald Nelson.

• Paul Dolan reported that Lenz' performance on the Ph.D. oral exams was "slightly above average."

• Lenz called Gerald Nelson one of the three most influential people in his life. Nelson reacted to news stories alleging that Lenz was a cult leader by saying: "This is the sort of thing you would expect from an intelligent, sensitive, abused child from a well-to-do family. Fred quite obviously needs help, but is probably too far-gone to realize or admit it." Nelson also said, "He was always coming to me with these book ideas and asking me, 'Do you think it will sell?' My honest opinion was that he was a hustler. But I thought he was goofy and harmless."

Evolution as a spiritual teacher

Lenz was introduced to meditation in 1968. He then began to meditate for several years with the guidance of many teachers. According to his books, he first went into samadhi

Samadhi

Samadhi in Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools is a higher level of concentrated meditation, or dhyāna. In the yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali....

, or a state of spiritual absorption, at the age of 19. In his autobiographical books Surfing the Himalayas and Snowboarding to Nirvana he claimed that traveling heightened his experiences in meditation.

Beginning in 1972, he became a follower of Hindu guru

Guru

A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...

 Sri Chinmoy

Sri Chinmoy

Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, also known as Sri Chinmoy was an Indian spiritual teacher, poet, artist and athlete who immigrated to the U.S. in 1964., the founder of the religious organization "Sri Chinmoy Centre Church, Inc." better known as "Sri Chinmoy Centre"...

, 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, allegedly telling the other students that, "Chinmoy has fallen." He took between 50 and 100 former Chinmoy students with him and formed the Lakshmi

Lakshmi

Lakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...

 group.

Lenz has said to students,"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, "A great deal of the teaching that I do is about money." In his estimation, money was a direct indicator of the student's level of success in his application of the teachings and usage of the energy received from empowerments. During the first years of his teaching, he offered thousands of free public meditations where he introduced numerous people to meditation, some of whom became students.

By 1983, he had stopped calling himself Atmananda and began calling himself "Rama", which he interchanged with "Zen Master Rama" during a 1985 Zen seminar and tape series. The name Rama comes from the incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

 of the Ramayana

Ramayana

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

. Reports vary on whether he actually believed himself to be Rama/Vishnu, or merely considered it to be symbolic. He also claimed to be one of only twelve truly enlightened people on Earth. The enlightened twelve supposedly included his dog "Vayu

Vayu

Vāyu is a primary Hindu deity, the Lord of the winds, the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman...

". Lenz believed in reincarnation

Reincarnation

Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...

 and suggested that through deeper awareness, one could remember past lives. He claimed to remember several of his previous reincarnations, including his life as a high priest at the Temple of Light in Atlantis

Atlantis

Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....

, and a teacher/leader in ancient Egypt, India, Japan, and Tibet. He often told his students that he was the reincarnation of Saint Thomas More

Thomas More

Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...

, who coined the term "Utopia

Utopia (book)

Utopia is a work of fiction by Thomas More published in 1516...

".

Students of his claim to have watched him performing miracle

Miracle

A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...

s, including levitation, teleportation, projecting light from his hands, and transforming into an old, bearded Asian man before their eyes. He also claimed to have the ability to heal people by touching them, control the weather, uplift people by sending them light, and pass through alternate dimensions. He told his followers that he "wielded the power to create and demolish the universes" and that "those criticizing him would invariably get hit by a car or contract cancer."

He also began to speak of "negative force entities" and related ideas, which disgruntled followers say he borrowed from the work of Carlos Castaneda

Carlos Castaneda

Carlos Castaneda was a Peruvian-born American anthropologist and author....

. His supporters trace these ideas not to Castaneda, but Tibetan Buddhism's ritual of Chöd

Chöd

Chöd , is a spiritual practice found primarily in Tibetan Buddhism. Also known as "Cutting Through the Ego," the practice is based on the Prajñāpāramitā sutra...

. According to former student Mark Laxer, Lenz agreed with the basic idea of The Force

Force (Star Wars)

The Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...

 from the Star Wars

Star Wars

Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

 films, and described former students and others who disagreed with him as having "fallen to the Dark Side

Dark side (Star Wars)

The dark side of the Force is a prominent moral, philosophical, and psychic concept in the Star Wars universe. It is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and appears in all subsequent Star Wars fiction...

." According to Laxer, Lenz told him that "Star Wars creator George Lucas

George Lucas

George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...

 was wrong to have Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...

 (Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill

Mark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...

) prematurely leave a mystical apprenticeship, wrong to have evil unmasked by good, and wrong to portray Yoda

Yoda

Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...

 as being gay."

At the height of his teachings in 1988 he was estimated to have between 400 and 1,000 followers. In 1998, he offered monthly tuition options from $500 to $5,000 per person to attend his business seminars. His supporters counter charges that he was interested primarily in money with two main arguments: first, that he regularly held free or low-cost classes for beginners, and second, that he dismissed hundreds of students from his classes, explaining that he didn't think they were a match for his teachings. He stated that his teaching priority was to promote independence, awareness, humor, and strength.

Basic teachings

His core teachings were related to the practice of meditation

Meditation

Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....

. He taught a form of chakra

Chakra

Chakra is a concept originating in Hindu texts, featured in tantric and yogic traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Its name derives from the Sanskrit word for "wheel" or "turning" .Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices...

 meditation originally created to help people gain greater happiness, achieve success in life, and attain Enlightenment. He recommended the use of music to assist in meditation, especially the bands Tangerine Dream

Tangerine Dream

Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...

 and, later, Zazen (a group whose records he produced). He once said of meditation,

• "Meditation is a journey, a journey to the other side. The other side can't be explained - the mystical worlds, the timeless, miraculous worlds of light. But they can be certainly, most certainly, experienced by you."

Beyond the core practice of meditation, he was said to place a great deal of emphasis on career, selfless giving, and martial arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

 or other athletic endeavors. He felt that being financially successful allowed students to build a buffer around themselves to protect them from what he termed the abrasive energies of the world, and hence to meditate more effectively. He recommended martial arts because of its strengthening effect on the body. He also placed focused on the enlightenment of women, saying that many spiritual faiths have traditionally discriminated against women, in many cases even denying the possibility of enlightenment for them.

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

• "Enlightenment is a timeless void. It’s an emptiness that’s filled with the most excellent light. That light is suffused through every part of your being. It is your being. There’s no sense of separation between yourself and the light. There’s no self but the light. That’s enlightenment – timeless, stillness, perfection".

• "Only a pure heart, a completely pure heart can house eternity. Your heart has to be absolutely pure. You can only want that which is absolutely good. You have to live in goodness all the time, and nothing else can matter. There can be no thought of self, no apartheid in the inner world. No discrimination. It’s only with that absolute humility and purity that you can make friends with God because otherwise you’re just too busy with all your desires".

• "What is self? What lies beyond self? Self is the perception of perception. Beyond self there’s no perception of perception. That’s the riddle. The only way to answer the riddle is to go beyond perception and, of course, then there’s no answer because there’s no perception, there’s only silence".

• "In meditation, in selfless giving, in anything that lends nobility to the soul, we rise beyond the limitations of our self-created illusions and we become perfectly what we are".

Claimed previous incarnations

• Zen Master, Kyoto, Japan 1531-1575
• Head of Zen Order, Kyoto, Japan 1602-1671
• Master of Monastery, Tibet 1725-1804
• Jnana Yoga Master, India 1834-1905
• Tibetan Lama, Head of Monastic Order, Tibet 1912-1945

Record producer

He was the producer for the rock band, Zazen. The band gained success among electronic and new-age music audiences, often being compared to Tangerine Dream

Tangerine Dream

Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...

 by critics. During the life of the band, Zazen produced 21 albums (many of which were re-released/re-produced) in 13 years. The group has 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. Correction: All albums produced by Rama were intended specifically for his students to meditate to at the time they were produced. Many of Lenz' teachings were meant to take effect on a non-verbal level and the music was intended to be a way of accessing those teachings.

The band's name is taken from the Zen Buddhism term Zazen

Zazen

In Zen Buddhism, zazen is a meditative discipline practitioners perform to calm the body and the mind, and be able to concentrate enough to experience insight into the nature of existence and thereby gain enlightenment .- Significance :Zazen is considered the heart of Zen Buddhist practice...

, literally, "seated meditation." Zazen is a central concept of Zen Buddhism. It might be defined as "quieting the ego-mind to reveal the Buddha Nature/divine self within," but Zen Buddhists would use the literal translation.

Criticisms and controversial incidents

Some incidents that occurred during the 1980s fueled negative publicity.

Donald Cole, 23, committed suicide in 1984 because he was disappointed at his progress in the program. He left a note that read, "Bye, Rama, see you next time."

In 1989, Brenda Kerber moved from the San Francisco Bay Area (where she followed Lenz) out to New York to continue her work with him and subsequently vanished in early October, 1989. Also missing, and never recovered, was her Ford station wagon. She left behind all her personal possessions, cash, credit cards, bank book, driver's license, purse and personal diary. To date, her family believes Lenz was either aware of, or responsible for, her disappearance, since her diary showed an impending mental collapse brought about by what she reported as Lenz's disappointment in her spiritual progress.

Some of his former students allege that he told his students (especially his male students) that they should abstain from sex, while at the same time using his position as a spiritual teacher to coerce female students into having sex with him, then telling them to keep quiet about it. Allegations that he was a sexual predator are often the subject of Lenz news articles. By 1986 Lenz said he "needed to sleep with two or three women at a time". An individual, he maintained, had too little "energy" to stimulate him. According to Newsweek, "a 36-year-old graduate student from Los Angeles named Anny Eastwood" claims that Lenz "allegedly waved a loaded pistol and forced her to have sex with him."

Mark Laxer, a favored student of Lenz from 1978–1985, published a book in 1993 about his time with him called Take Me For A Ride; Coming Of Age In A Destructive Cult.

Those supportive of Lenz described him as an educator who held seminars in the same way a college professor would. They claim that he promoted total independence, strength and integrity of being, and continually encouraged people to leave and go out in the world to practice the teachings on their own. Some of his former students disagree, alleging that he ran his organizations in the typical manner of a cult. These students became involved with several cult watchdog groups, including the CAN (Cult Awareness Network

Cult Awareness Network

The Cult Awareness Network was founded in the wake of the November 18, 1978 deaths of members of the group Peoples Temple and assassination of Congressman Leo J. Ryan in Jonestown, Guyana. CAN is now owned and operated by associates of the Church of Scientology, an organization that the original...

) and deprogrammers (in particular, Joe Szimhart, who is accused of kidnapping and imprisoning Lenz' student Karen Lever). Lenz and his supporters label the cult watchdog groups as "hate group

Hate group

A hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other designated sector of society...

s" and deprogrammers as "kidnappers."

Many former students did not become involved in so-called hate groups, did not shun meditation, did not disregard much of what Lenz taught, but discovered an aspect to Frederick Lenz that they found worthy of warning the public about.

Death and his estate

Lenz died on April 12, 1998. He drowned at his estate on Conscience Bay in Old Field, New York

Old Field, New York

Old Field is a village of 918 residents in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The Incorporated Village of Old Field is in the town of Brookhaven, on the North Shore of Long Island. It is one of the most affluent communities in the state and is among the wealthiest towns in the United States...

 after taking a massive drug overdose. Reports differ on whether Lenz took phenobarbital

Phenobarbital

Phenobarbital or phenobarbitone is a barbiturate, first marketed as Luminal by Friedr. Bayer et comp. It is the most widely used anticonvulsant worldwide, and the oldest still commonly used. It also has sedative and hypnotic properties but, as with other barbiturates, has been superseded by the...

 or 80–150 Valium tablets. With him at the time of his death was 33-year-old model and devoted follower Brinn Lacey who, according the police report, was covered with bruises. Lacey contends that his death was part of a suicide pact

Suicide pact

A suicide pact is an agreed plan between two or more individuals to commit suicide. The plan may be to die together, or separately and closely timed. Suicide pacts are important concepts in the study of suicide, and have occurred throughout history, as well as in fiction.Suicide pacts are generally...

. Three terriers owned by Lenz were also found at the scene, drugged with phenobarbital. According to Psychology Today, police found his body dressed in a suit and tie, with a dog collar around his neck.

He left an $18 million fortune, including several Learjets, mansions and luxury cars. His will was a matter of dispute between the National Audubon Society

National Audubon Society

The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission...

 and his former accountant/executor Norman Marcus, who created the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism two months after Lenz died. This apparently fulfilled provisions of the will necessary for Marcus to retain control of the Lenz fortune. According the New York Times, the will was also contested by Diana Jean Reynolds, who claimed to be Lenz' widow, and Deborah Lenz, whose claim to be Lenz' widow is based on her view that they had a common law marriage.

His estate was eventually settled in 2002. The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism shows substantial grant making activity from 2003 onwards, as well as a substantial donation to the National Audubon Society

National Audubon Society

The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission...

. As part of the settlement with Audubon, a gorge was named for Lenz at the Sharon Audubon Center in northwest Connecticut. Neither of the two women who alleged to have been wives of Lenz received anything in the settlement. The IRS 990 forms (available for free from Guidestar

GuideStar

GuideStar USA, Inc. is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2010, their database contained over 5 million IRS Forms 990 filings on 1.9 million organizations.....

), show a substantial infusion of cash to the Foundation beginning in 2002. The Foundation is run by a Board of Directors on which Marcus and Norman Oberstein sit as lifetime members. Lenz' father Frederick P. Lenz Jr joined Marcus and Oberstein on the Board of Directors up until his death on September 17, 2009, after which he was replaced by Lenz' former student Lisa Lewinson. An Advisory Committee chaired by Lewinson and including former students Elizabeth Cecil, Dana Schwartz, Joaquin Lievano, and Walter Goodwin, as well as four leading Zen practitioners — George (Dai En) Burch, Fleet Maull, Dennis Genpo Merzel

Dennis Genpo Merzel

Dennis Merzel is an American Zen and spirituality teacher, also known as Genpo Merzel Roshi. He was a student and is heir of the Japanese-born Zen teacher Taizan Maezumi. Merzel obtained a Master's degree in educational administration from the University of Southern California and went on to...

, and Gerry (Shishin) Wick — advises the Board of Directors but has no voting rights of its own.

The Foundation, and not Audubon, appears to have rights to most of Lenz' intellectual property. In addition to selling CDs, books, and videos, the Foundation makes grants to non-profit organizations that it deems to be promoting activities consistent with American Buddhism as taught by Lenz. One of their major beneficiaries is Peacemaker Circle International

Peacemaker Circle International

Peacemaker Circle International is a grassroots activist organization which believes that harmony can come from people with opposing ideas and interests coming together.-External links:*...

, an outgrowth of the Zen Peacemaker Order

Zen Peacemaker Order

The Zen Peacemakers is an organization of socially engaged Buddhists. It was founded by Zen Master Bernie Glassman and his wife Sandra Jishu Holmes in 1996, as a means of continuing the work begun with the Greyston Foundation in 1980 of expanding Zen practice into larger spheres of influence such...

 founded by Roshi Bernie Glassman

Tetsugen Bernard Glassman

Bernie Glassman , aka Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, is an American Zen Buddhist roshi and co-founder of the Zen Peacemakers , an organization established in 1996 with his late wife Sandra Jishu Holmes...

, a student of the well-known Zen teacher Taizan Hakuyu Maezumi Roshi

Taizan Maezumi

Hakuyū Taizan Maezumi was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher and rōshi, and lineage holder in the Sōtō, Rinzai and Harada-Yasutani traditions of Zen. He combined the Rinzai use of koans and the Sōtō emphasis on shikantaza in his teachings, influenced by his years studying under Hakuun Yasutani in the...

. Norman Marcus, president and member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation, also serves on the Finance Committee of the Zen Peacemakers. Advisory Committee member Dennis Genpo Merzel is another student of Maezumi Roshi.

External links

• The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism
• RamaLila website
• Zen Peacemakers website
• Frederick Lenz - Zen Master Rama includes the brochures Lenz distributed in 1986 and 1987 to advertise for his Zen seminars.
• Daily quotes of Rama - publisher of American Buddha - Direct Student Accounts of Studying with Rama.
• Road Trip Mind is an online non-fiction book by a fictional author, who was asked to write it by Frederick Lenz. It is one former student's attempt to come to some sort of balanced view of the time he spent with Rama. The author probably did not achieve that, but some readers found it made them laugh, so he was pleased.
• Free MP3 Dharma Talks by Rama ~ Dr. Frederick Lenz
• Free MP3 Music for Meditation by Rama