The writing of American Buddhist Rebel was a 15-year voyage of discovery. I learned constantly from the 100+ people I spoke with. One of my research questions involved Rama’s introduction to Surfing the Himalayas. He said the fiction book was based on a real set of events. I found out about fact versus fiction from a number of sources: 

I met Rama in early 1981, within six weeks of him opening up “Lakshmi,” his first spiritual center in San Diego. Rama shared a lot more of his personal journey, spiritual path, and his younger life early in our study with him. He related to us as friends as well as students. It was not unusual for him to share many wonderful stories of his life with us in private, intimate settings.

I am writing about one of the stories that he shared one evening with the small group that we were back then.  When Rama (he was called Freddie at the time) was young – a wild-haired, free-spirited, fearless person growing up -- he had an idea that if you could use a surfboard to ride liquid water, then why not be able to do the same on solid frozen water—snow? So he gathered up a surfboard, his girlfriend, and his buddy and they all headed over to the Himalayas for a visit so he could try out his theory. After all, what better way to test snow-surfing than on the biggest, highest, most challenging mountain range on the planet right out of the starting gate?

After arriving and getting settled, the three friends started out early one morning hiking up the highest mountain Rama could find in the area, with Rama hauling the surfboard behind him the entire way up. He hiked for 8-9 hours; the other two companions turned back at about the 4-5 hour mark, too exhausted to go on, but Rama continued until he felt he was at a high enough spot to position the surfboard, point it downhill, and hop on for the ride of his life as he knew it up to that point.

He said it was EXHILARATING: he felt as though he was flying, with no real control whatsoever, other than that the surfboard was going STRAIGHT downhill and somehow he was managing to stay on top of it! He said it took very little time to come down—especially compared to the hike up.

As he was nearing the bottom of the mountain, Rama told us that all of a sudden a man in monk’s robes appeared directly in front of him in the path of his surfboard. Rama was not able to stop or change course in time and he ran right over the monk. He jumped off and ran back up to where the monk layin the snow, frantic that he had seriously injured him. The monk had Rama help him up and said that he would be ok, but could Rama please accompany him back to where he lived to make sure he made it after their crashing into one another.

Rama of course said ‘yes’ and went back to the monk’s dwelling with him. Once there, the monk asked Rama to please have tea with him and Rama, continuing to feel accountable and guilty, felt obligated to stay and have the tea, which he did.

Once the monk gave Rama his tea, he sat down across from him in the room. Rama said the next thing he knew, he felt his consciousness being filled with light and an expansiveness until all of a sudden, he became aware again of being in his body again and that quite a number of hours had passed, which he could tell by the light outside. He said he felt very different, but could not put any words or thoughts to it as to how or why.

The monk asked Rama to please come visit him the next day and Rama said he felt this inexplicable need to see the monk once again and to spend time with him in his room. What Rama did not know was that this being was an enlightened monk, that he knew EXACTLY who Rama was, that he had been waiting for Rama to come to him for a very, very long time, that he had deliberately placed himself in the path of Rama’s surfboard in order to force a crossing of paths (also knowing that it would result in Rama’s feeling obligated to help him), and that the whole thing was preordained and of the highest dharma.

When Rama returned the next day, he said that the monk did the same thing to his consciousness but this time for a much longer period of time.   Once Rama entered back into his body for the second time, the monk began to speak to him about his true nature, the level of his consciousness--enlightened from previous lifetimes—and his reason for coming to this planet this lifetime.  The monk told him about his many, many incarnations as a teacher of the highest dharma. He also talked to him about his students who had accompanied him here to study with him once again and that he would be gathering them back to him, that after many years of study with him, they would also become teachers and help and teach many others, and that their meeting (Rama and the enlightened monk) was the catalyst for his future to begin to unfold: that it was ‘time.’

The stories that Rama chose to share with us in person at the very beginning of our study with him were experiences he wanted to tell us about, giving us glimpses into his life and his own spiritual quest and path.  I believe he chose to share these personal stories so that we could relate to him as a person and a student on the path to enlightenment and see that if it could happen to him, it could also happen to each and every one of us as his students.

He shared his experiences from a place of deep love, kindness, purity, compassion, and giving—there was never any trace of ulterior motive, guile, falsehood, or manipulation. I believe it is of high etiquette and very important that the gifts of the knowledge of some of Rama’s personal and inner life be received and acknowledged in the same way that they were given.

— Keri Esler

Keri, an early Rama student, was told by Rama that she had “the memory of an elephant.”  She lives in Southern California. 

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In 1988, I moved to New York.  I found a place in Pound Ridge, a suburb north of New York City.  Rama visited me there while he was writing “Surfing the Himalayas.”  Most of our time was spent talking about the book.

Rama stated he was a teenager when he ran over Master Fwap on a large surfboard in the foothills of Nepal.  Rama was extremely funny.  He reenacted panicking and lifting Master Fwap from the snow and brushing snow off him and helping him to stand up.  I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe. 

We spent many days and hours talking about Master Fwap and the Oracle.   Rama received teachings and transmissions from both teachers.  They are not fictional characters.  They are both real, and there is a profound connection between Rama and these teachers.  We spoke of many more conversations with these two first teachers than were used in the book. 

Rama said that he intended to make the book a “fiction” book.  Although based on a true story, his goal was to present timeless teachings in a format that young people would understand and relate to.  In 1988, the sport of snowboarding was still in its early days.

The fiction part of Surfing and Snowboarding arises from Rama’s intent to use stories and adventures in snowboarding a way to teach young people about enlightenment.

-- Connie Robinson

Connie, a Rama student, is a successful entrepreneur and businesswoman based in Australia. 

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Here is Rama – Dr. Frederick Lenz on film describing his journey to Nepal.  He speaks of going to Nepal as a teenager and meeting his Buddhist teacher. See this cool film clip.  

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I remember in the very early days (1980), Rama mentioned that he went to Nepal when he was 19 and met a Buddhist master there.

-- Francis Wang

Francis (Dharma), one of Rama’s earliest students, was a long-time member of Rama’s martial arts security team.  He is now based in China.

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Rama was an enlightened tulku. He was informed of that fact as a teenager. There are termas (hidden treasures of knowledge and awareness) throughout the pages of Surfing the Himalayas and Snowboarding to Nirvana. The books are fiction based on true events.

Regarding the RAE CHORZE FWAZ (the name given by Rama to the Buddhist monk’s lineage),  are these words just a 19-year-old American’s phonetic recollection?  We’ve asked Sanskrit and Tibetan scholars at a Buddhist university for their opinion on close phonetic matches.  Stay tuned!  Many people think Rae Chorze Fwaz works beautifully as is. 

—Liz Lewinson