of my 13 years with Andrew without a romantic
partner. When one did manage to obtain
permission for a relationship, Andrew often
intervened to end it. In my case, he decided that
my relationship should end because my partner
had been “proud.” In other words, like all
relationships inside the community, mine began
with his consent and ended by his decree.
Along with new rules and regulations, Andrew
also began instituting punishments, as well. The
methods were often random, harsh, out of
proportion to the alleged wrong, and
questionable as educational “skillful means.”
Andrew referred to his new system as “Acts of
Outrageous Integrity,” and it consisted of
extreme “teaching methods” designed to cut
through a student’s ego and resistance in order
to facilitate awakening.
Cohen’s acts of outrageous integrity included
disciplinary face slapping, in which it was
difficult to discern any particular lesson other
than “Shape up!” In some cases, Andrew would
direct one student to slap another in others, he
administered the slaps himself.
For some time, Cohen had also been bestowing
ironic spiritual names intended to make their
bearers acutely aware of their character flaws.
There were Mad Dog and Raging Bull, who had
tempers Nar, who was “narcissistic” Cas, who
was “casual” Integrity, who supposedly lacked
it and many others.
Thus, an unprecedented degree of control
eventually came to pervade the atmosphere of
the Foxhollow community, and “groupthink”
was certainly one of the consequences. It is a
well-known and troubling fact that group
mentality has the potential to override individual
morality. I experienced this firsthand as a
member of Andrew Cohen’s community— at
times observing, participating in, rationalizing,
and excusing extremely harsh treatment of
fellow members who had angered their teacher.
When a student was slapped or evicted from a
student household, for example, I told myself
that it was for that individual’s own good,
chalking it up to my teacher’s passionate
determination to free the student from the
tyranny of the ego. I do not regard the fact that
there was no forum in which to question such
behavior as an excuse for my failure to have
done so. Even when, later on, I found myself on
the receiving end of abusive treatment, I
compartmentalized these experiences in my own
mind, suspending judgment—and my own
humanity—in an effort to adhere to the party
line.
Another incident involved a student (Mikaela)
who had fallen out of favor by reminding Cohen
that something he had criticized her for doing
had been his idea in the first place. He decried
her as evil and ordered that the walls, floor, and
ceiling of her office (which had been relocated
to an unfinished basement room) be painted red
to signify the spilled blood of her guru. She was
ordered to spend hours there contemplating the
implications of her transgression, with the
additional aid of a large cartoon on the wall
depicting her as a vampire and the word traitor
written in large letters next to it. Andrew often
employed red paint in this fashion to create
environments designed to induce shame and
guilt in students who he felt had questioned his
judgment or disobeyed him.
Another female student who had displeased
Andrew and, after leaving the community, had
returned to help out on a weekend painting
project, was summoned to another basement
room. There she was met by four female
students who, having guided her onto a plastic
sheet on the floor, each poured a bucket of paint
over her head as a “message of gratitude” from
Andrew. She left the property traumatized she
fell ill in subsequent days (during which she was
harassed by phone calls from another student
who, at Cohen’s instigation, repeatedly called
her a coward) and never again returned to
Foxhollow.
A Final Word on Crazy Wisdom
Many of us who have left the community have
often discussed among ourselves our complicity
in the execution of acts of outrageous integrity
that essentially amounted to abuse. And
whether we witnessed these abuses firsthand or
from a distance, we have often expressed regret
over our failure to intervene or to acknowledge
our part in the harm they brought to so many
individuals.
32 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 5, 2014
partner. When one did manage to obtain
permission for a relationship, Andrew often
intervened to end it. In my case, he decided that
my relationship should end because my partner
had been “proud.” In other words, like all
relationships inside the community, mine began
with his consent and ended by his decree.
Along with new rules and regulations, Andrew
also began instituting punishments, as well. The
methods were often random, harsh, out of
proportion to the alleged wrong, and
questionable as educational “skillful means.”
Andrew referred to his new system as “Acts of
Outrageous Integrity,” and it consisted of
extreme “teaching methods” designed to cut
through a student’s ego and resistance in order
to facilitate awakening.
Cohen’s acts of outrageous integrity included
disciplinary face slapping, in which it was
difficult to discern any particular lesson other
than “Shape up!” In some cases, Andrew would
direct one student to slap another in others, he
administered the slaps himself.
For some time, Cohen had also been bestowing
ironic spiritual names intended to make their
bearers acutely aware of their character flaws.
There were Mad Dog and Raging Bull, who had
tempers Nar, who was “narcissistic” Cas, who
was “casual” Integrity, who supposedly lacked
it and many others.
Thus, an unprecedented degree of control
eventually came to pervade the atmosphere of
the Foxhollow community, and “groupthink”
was certainly one of the consequences. It is a
well-known and troubling fact that group
mentality has the potential to override individual
morality. I experienced this firsthand as a
member of Andrew Cohen’s community— at
times observing, participating in, rationalizing,
and excusing extremely harsh treatment of
fellow members who had angered their teacher.
When a student was slapped or evicted from a
student household, for example, I told myself
that it was for that individual’s own good,
chalking it up to my teacher’s passionate
determination to free the student from the
tyranny of the ego. I do not regard the fact that
there was no forum in which to question such
behavior as an excuse for my failure to have
done so. Even when, later on, I found myself on
the receiving end of abusive treatment, I
compartmentalized these experiences in my own
mind, suspending judgment—and my own
humanity—in an effort to adhere to the party
line.
Another incident involved a student (Mikaela)
who had fallen out of favor by reminding Cohen
that something he had criticized her for doing
had been his idea in the first place. He decried
her as evil and ordered that the walls, floor, and
ceiling of her office (which had been relocated
to an unfinished basement room) be painted red
to signify the spilled blood of her guru. She was
ordered to spend hours there contemplating the
implications of her transgression, with the
additional aid of a large cartoon on the wall
depicting her as a vampire and the word traitor
written in large letters next to it. Andrew often
employed red paint in this fashion to create
environments designed to induce shame and
guilt in students who he felt had questioned his
judgment or disobeyed him.
Another female student who had displeased
Andrew and, after leaving the community, had
returned to help out on a weekend painting
project, was summoned to another basement
room. There she was met by four female
students who, having guided her onto a plastic
sheet on the floor, each poured a bucket of paint
over her head as a “message of gratitude” from
Andrew. She left the property traumatized she
fell ill in subsequent days (during which she was
harassed by phone calls from another student
who, at Cohen’s instigation, repeatedly called
her a coward) and never again returned to
Foxhollow.
A Final Word on Crazy Wisdom
Many of us who have left the community have
often discussed among ourselves our complicity
in the execution of acts of outrageous integrity
that essentially amounted to abuse. And
whether we witnessed these abuses firsthand or
from a distance, we have often expressed regret
over our failure to intervene or to acknowledge
our part in the harm they brought to so many
individuals.
32 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 5, 2014
