Frederick P. Lenz III; Author, Commune Leader

Frederick P. Lenz III, 48, best-selling author on snowboarding and Eastern philosophy. Born in San Diego, Lenz earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Connecticut and master’s and doctoral degrees at State University of New York at Stony Brook. He founded a company called Advanced Systems Inc., gave pricey computer science seminars and in 1995 was listed by New York magazine as one of the “100 Smartest New Yorkers.” But Lenz was better known for operating a California commune in the 1980s and calling himself Zen Master Rama, which led critics to accuse him of operating a cult. He wrote several books, from “Lifetimes: True Accounts of Reincarnation” in 1979 to his 1995 best-seller “Surfing the Himalayas” and “Snowboarding to Nirvana” in 1996. Although describing himself as a Buddhist, he eschewed the typically modest lifestyle for luxury cars and homes and dates with his followers. On Monday in Old Field, N.Y., of drowning and possible drug overdose.