These things gave Rama a new focus on life. He decided that he wanted to go to college. So he returned to Conneticut, took part time jobs to earn the money that he needed and began attending the University of Connecticut at Storrs where he received his BA degree and later the State University of New York at Stony Brook where he received his Phd. Early during this time he traveled to Nepal where he encountered a Buddhist Monk who further interested him in meditation and mindfulness upon his return from Nepal Rama began studying with Sri Chinmoy.

Love would be a major factor in Rama’s life. He spoke about how he would go to see a professor prior to enrolling in a class and that he would only take a class if he found the professor to be fascinating. He felt that the professor was more important then the subject matter. He would then fall in love with the professor (I’m not talking about romantic love here) and that love would extend to the material that the professor was teaching. He also found love through poetry and literature. And at age 22 he was married for six months but quickly learned that he was too restless and drawn to light to stay in one relationship. Through all of these things he came to realize that it was not the earthly things that interested him, it was a love of light that he was really interested in. And he found that he was drawn to helping others.

Rama was very active in Sri Chinmoy’s group, attending all of his teacher’s gatherings and soon he found himself teaching. By 1977 he began teaching meditation at the New School for Social Research in Greenwich Village. He would continue to teach until his death in 1998.

As time passed, Dr. Lenz decided it was time to teach on his own. In early 1981, he formed his own school of American Buddhism. Making himself available, sometimes over 200 nights a year, to those interested in living “an uncommonly fine life,” he embarked on teaching Buddhist principles and meditation, ultimately to more than 100,000 people.

American Buddhism, as he called it, is a form of Buddhism that is right for people who want to live a life fully committed to spiritual evolution while simultaneously using career and all aspects of the western lifestyle to achieve enlightenment in this life.  American Buddhism doesn’t reject modern living in western culture, but rather integrates the premises of meditation and mindfulness with living a full, rich life of excitement and fun.

Rama was a fully enlightened teacher who could remember his past lives. He recommended using tools such as electronic music to help his students’ meditation practice. And he recommended utilizing everything in our lives, from relationships to careers as part of our mindfulness practice.

For a more complete biography, we recommend the book: American Buddhist Rebel by Liz Lewinson. For more information on Rama’s teachings we recommend the Resource Library at The Rama Meditation Society, teaching about dreaming can be found here.