Rama, Dr. Frederick Lenz

Dr. Frederick Lenz was a writer, scholar, and an influential teacher of American Buddhism. He received his MA and Ph.D. in English Literature from the State University of New York in Stony Brook. By age 29, he was lecturing and teaching at universities around the world, including Harvard, UCLA, and Stanford.

Dr. Lenz was deeply inspired by the Transcendentalism movement. He viewed transcendentalism as the awareness of eternity in the present moment. He valued the questions transcendentalism raised and the answers it provided. Thoreau’s Walden work was one of his favorites and Rama embedded many of its themes into his live teachings, such as the gifts of solitude, the power of nature, the freedom of living life simply, and the concept of the oversoul.

In this website, we selected quotes from these live teachings, including one of Rama’s talks that mirrored Thoreau’s Walden contributions on the topic, as an introduction to the wisdom, beauty, and repose that can be found by observing and practicing transcendentalism in today’s 20th century.   

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau lived in the mid-19th century during turbulent times in America, right in the middle of the anti-slavery movement. It is during these times that he wrote a variety of literary works: poetry, books, and essays on topics that addressed the needs he saw reflected within and around him. 

It can be argued that although the times have changed, his wisdom remains equally relevant in today’s 21st century. A social reformist, scientist, naturalist, and philosopher, he approached each literary work with a structured, scholarly approach that can be followed by those of spiritual interest with equal appreciation.

In this website, we selected quotes from one of his most famous works, Walden, through which Thoreau guides his readers to see “beyond” and to live well. By sharing transcendental lessons found within Walden’s pages, we hope that you too will see the magic he came to experience during his extended stay at Walden Pond.