Our Mission

The Foundation is dedicated to promoting the benefits of Zen Buddhism, meditation, yoga and related Buddhist practices as a pathway to self-realization and the harmonious blending of the material and spiritual in contemporary American society. The Foundation encourages the study and practice of these disciplines so that Americans with a Western mind set may come to appreciate these ancient gifts of Eastern thought, and utilize them in a way that is relevant to American culture and values.

Our Vision

Dr. Frederick P. Lenz, "Rama" to his students and associates, dedicated his life to the proposition that Westerners in a modern, fast-paced America can achieve spiritual enlightenment, without religious ceremony, and better enjoy the benefits of an American lifestyle by embracing and practicing the principles of Zen Buddhism, meditation, yoga and related Buddhist practices. Rama's vision is embodied in the Foundation's core values: to spread as broadly and for so long as possible throughout American society the knowledge and benefits of these disciplines, using where feasible Rama's own writings, tapes and music as an aid. The challenge for those who carry on in Rama's name is to translate this ancient body of wisdom, which includes for example Tantric Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism and Tibetan yoga, into a system of practice adapted for Americans so they may more easily share in its benefits. The Foundation seeks partners with which to establish such programs and will make grants to other qualified charitable organizations which share the Foundation's vision, or which offer programs that will promote the Foundation's goals.

Rama's funding and his intellectual and artistic works are the building blocks upon which the Foundation has begun; however, the benefits the Foundation may ultimately bestow on American society will be realized only through others who share the dream that Buddhist principles and related disciplines offer an opportunity to further enrich the Western experience with the utilization of beneficial Eastern traditions. By harnessing and focusing the energy of other organizations and individuals similarly disposed, the Foundation seeks to have an effect far beyond its own means, and thus contribute to the establishment of unique American forms of Buddhist understanding and practice.

"Buddhism is a way. There are lots of forms of it, and you find a way that suits you best. No way is better than another. There's short path, long path, Hinayana, Mahayana. There are many aspects to it. But the central point of all Buddhism is not the aspects, not the etiquette, not the books that have been written about it, but the practice of meditation. If you meditate, you're a Buddhist."

Rama – Dr. Frederick Lenz