Report on the "Rama" Computer Cult
4. MEETING FORMAT
According to the most current information available, Lenz conducts one "Tantric Buddhist Meditation Seminar" each month. There are two sessions, one Saturday and one on Sunday from 7 to midnight each evening. The meetings are held in Westchester County in a motel or, recently, at the Performing Arts Center, State University New York at Purchase, N.Y.
The very tight screening reflects the increasing paranoia of the group. Non-member must be invited by a member. Enrollees have to be entered into a computer file which is checked at each successive meeting. First time members must execute a hold harmless agreement releasing Lenz from all responsibility. There are husky, dour-looking guards at all doorways, member of his security team. Full members sit in back of the room. Prospective members sit in front with no one at all in the first row. There is very little intermingling of the two groups.
At the seminars all members come dressed as if they were going for a job interview. Men look "well heeled". Although he has advised the women to be well groomed, buy expensive clothes, (some have spent more than $500 for make-up sessions), they are treated as subservient. This is very interesting and is a definite change from his earlier format when he made a special, and successful, effort to appeal to women. One of Lenz's several books was titled Why Don't More Women Attain Enlightenment (Lakshmi Publications, Malibu, California). Currently it almost appears as if Lenz hates all women and generally treats them as second class citizens within the group. This may reflect a reaction to the problems and adverse publicity he received as a result of the revelations of Mercedes Hughes and Anny Eastwood, among others.
The meeting format has apparently changed very little over the years. For the first hour Zazen music is played on compact discs. This is an unstructured kind of electronic music recorded by a trio which Lenz produces. The copyright and trademark to the music is held by Advanced Systems, Inc, which has the same World Trade Center mail drop as his National Personal and Professional Development Seminars, Inc. It is somewhat like a combination of sounds - wind chimes, rushing water and cow bells. There is some belief that there might be some subliminal message contained in the music. During this time people may converse while seated.
At 8:30, an hour after the start of the meeting, Lenz enters wearing a very expensive Italian cut suit. His hair is still curly, but less bushy. He settles himself ritualistically and commences his lecture.
The lecture begins with some form of humor to "open people up." At one seminar there were some dancing flowers on stage. Although Lenz tried a variety of antics he could not make the flowers stop dancing.
In lectures he talks a great deal about movies and books. The movies used to emphasize the occult. Now there is a disturbing trend toward straight violence. They include The Hitcher, the Rambo series, Poltergeist II, Thunderdome and the Arnold Schwarzenegger action movies. Lenz says everyone must read Journey to Ladahk written by a Tibetian monk. There are also references to Gothic literature and the "need to bridge the gap between heaven and hell." Also there is frequent mention of grids -"everything goes back to a grid."
A good deal of swearing takes place during the lectures and ranting and raving tirades on almost any subject. "I don't give a shit what you want." "Get rid of anybody in your way!" There is much dialogue about the stupidity of the general population and derogatory references to Southern California.
Members are often upbraided. One tactic is to give the line from a movie and then point to a specific member who would need to recite the next line from the movie. If the member did not respond correctly he would be verbally attacked and humiliated. As a result members spend days seeing the same movies over and over again in order to memorize the dialogue.
A former member reported he had gone to India and found that Buddhism there was entirely different from what Lenz had taught. He wrote him a letter and told Lenz he wanted to leave as a student for six months. Lenz called him at three o'clock in the morning and talked him into coming back. Then he held him up in front of the group and belittled him, twisting and putting down everything he said.
Lenz's teachings extend to every portion of a student's life. He dictates dress, eating habits, what one does for recreation or relaxation, dictates their daily regime, their choice of automobiles, their attitudes toward health care and even their careers. More appalling is his control over their basic beliefs. Issues such as honesty, tolerance, respect for others and even consideration and love for one's family are against his teaching. Because of his skill at manipulation and mind control Lenz soon is able to make all the basic decisions for his followers.
Lenz preaches against intimacy, against having serious or lasting relationships. "Screw anybody....sleep around." Prior to disclosure of his affairs with various women students Lenz promoted Buddhist celibacy and proclaimed himself to be chaste. This advocacy of frivolous sex is unaccompanied by any admonition for safe sex. He is exceptionally negative about marriage and children. "Why bother to have children? They cry and keep you awake. I'd rather stomp one into the ground and go out and buy a new prayer rug." This is consistent with his efforts to keep all members isolated and dependent upon him.
The lecture is then followed by a fifteen minute meditation session. Zazen music is played from CDs. The lighting is changed. The heat in the room seems to increase. One attendee felt her throat constrict. She felt like she was choking. She said a number of people began coughing. Lenz says that his power and group energy will give the audience the potential for the best meditation they have ever had and can take them to Nirvana. This is a group buzz word. He states that while most people meditate with their eyes closed it is "Ok to keep your eyes open and watch me. You might see a change." He then tells them what change they might expect to see, such as light, levitation, and similar effects.
Group members have reported seeing such phenomena. According to Anny Eastwood, a former member, "There was always the implication that the more spiritually evolved you were the more you would see." Some believers relate that his aura makes the room glow with golden light, that he can make the moon change colors, the stars spin and the winds stop. Others recall his face transforming into a Tibetan Lama or a Japanese Zen teacher and his body levitating. Meditators attribute their "blissed out state" and "burst of powerful energy shooting up their spines" to Rama's power.
There is then a break at which junk food is served as snacks, then a question period.
Meetings are conducted under the name of Advanced Systems Inc. or National Personal Development Seminars. Most recently meetings were known to have been scheduled in November, December and January at the State University of New York in Purchase, New York. However, phone calls to the office which schedules use of their facilities insist ently denies that Lenz conducted meetings there.