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The Rama Computer Students were led by Frederick Lenz who called himself the Zen Master Rama. He organised the group under the appearance of Buddhism. He launched his own group when he started giving self-improvement seminars based on Eastern religions in 1980. He initially called himself Atmananda and based his teachings on Hinduism. Lenz called himself a spiritual teacher rather than a group or cult leader. His followers denied that they were members of a cult. He concentrated heavily on recruiting which resulted in hundreds of new members. People continued to follow him and he held publicly advertised classes until January 1988, when he was swamped by bad publicity from members who had left. His classes were then aimed at a smaller group of people who were invited as potential recruits. He used self-criticism tactics in group sessions. He had sexual relations with many women followers. He taught meditation techniques in his classes which some students found extremely helpful.

External links: Report critical of the Rama Computer Cult, Site dedicated to American Buddhism. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rama Computer Cult". This entry is a fragment of a larger work. Link may die if entry is finally removed or merged.