Enlightenment FRAUD of Zen Master Rama

The Enlightenment Fraud of Zen Master Rama

(LA Weekly, Jan. 28, 1988)

(Atrocity Guide) June 12, 2023. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, a Jewish college professor (Dr. Frederick Lenz), alleged student of blissful Sri Chinmoy, and self-proclaimed "enlightened" Zen master comedian accumulated a loyal following of meditation students, taking them across the United States on a mission to achieve enlightenment [or at least get rich in this world]. It did not go well.

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.

Cult leader "Zen Master Rama" (formerly Frederick Philip Lenz III, also known as Atmananda, a name handed out to Sri Chinmoy's inner circle of recruiters) lived from Feb. 9, 1950–April 12, 1998, at which time he committed suicide.

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