The Enlightenment Fraud of Zen Master Rama
(LA Weekly, Jan. 28, 1988) |
Joe Szimhart: @josephszimhart9431
Jim Picariello:
jimpicariello.com. Further reading/viewing/listening: Take Me For a Ride by Mark Laxer: (gutenberg.org).
"What is Dancing?" music video by Zazen. Full Larry King interview with Lenz (1988): Zen Master Rama
Cult leader "Rama"
I'm totally enlightened. Pay me. Be a programmer. |
He was an American "spiritual leader," scandal monger, author, alleged software designer, and record producer. He founded what he termed "American Buddhism," which incorporated the teachings of Tibetan (Vajrayana) Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Vedanta (Hinduism), mysticism, and a hodgepodge of New Age ideas.
Reborn in San Diego, California, Lenz grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. He faced legal trouble in his youth for marijuana possession, and afterwards — according to his own account — embarked on a spiritual journey in Kathmandu, Nepal.
He attended the University of Connecticut, where he earned a master's degree, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNY), where he completed a doctorate degree.
He later studied under various Hindu and Buddhist teachers, most notably Sri Chinmoy, for whom he served as a recruiter for years before breaking away to start his own cult.
Lenz's teachings centered around "enlightenment in the modern world" through the integration of Eastern religious principles into everyday American life.
Some of Lenz's former students accused him of cult activity, including financial and sexual exploitation of his students.
Lenz tried to deny the accusations, and no civil or criminal proceedings were brought against him.
Lenz committed suicide in 1998. After his ignominious death, his $23 million cult estate became the subject of a legal dispute, ultimately leading to the creation of the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism, which has made significant grants to various American Buddhist organizations since 2003. More
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