# Buddhafield · The Cult Dossier · The Atlas · The Congregation of Tomorrow

Source: https://congregationoftomorrow.org/atlas/library/cults/095-buddhafield/ · The Congregation of Tomorrow · the Atlas · language: en
The same words a person sees on this page, nothing more and nothing hidden.
Our own words are free to use under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), naming the Congregation of Tomorrow. Words of others keep their own terms.
Every page of the site, listed: https://congregationoftomorrow.org/ai/pages.json · the whole site in one file: https://congregationoftomorrow.org/llms-full.txt

← The Cult Dossier: all 182
The Cult Dossier · No. 095 · Eastern-Derived
Buddhafield
the group led by Michel/Andreas
c.1985 – present · West Hollywood; Austin, Texas; Hawaii
XI. THERAPY, POLITICS AND THE SMALL GROUPS
Fully religious — eclectic meditation group
### Who led it
### What it worshipped and taught
### Who was in it
### How it ended, or where it stands
### The dead
### Of note
### Its timeline
- c.1985 Group forms in West Hollywood around Gomez, growing to about 100 members.
- 1992 The group moves to Austin, Texas.
- 2000s Allegations of sexual manipulation spread and the group fractures; Will Allen leaves in 2007. Gomez moves to Oahu, Hawaii, with the remaining followers.
- 25 JANUARY 2016 Holy Hell premieres in competition at Sundance. About 85 followers are reported still with him in Hawaii.
- 2016 GOMEZ DISMISSES THE FILM as a work of fiction designed to create drama, fear and persecution, saying he is saddened by this attempt to obscure the message of universal love and spiritual awakening.
- 2016–2026 Continues to lead in Hawaii under the name Reyji. Still no charges.
### Its people
### Jaime Gomez
Michel; Andreas; Reyji
Leader, Buddhafield · born c.1941 · active c.1985–present
Before the law. NEVER CHARGED WITH ANYTHING, ANYWHERE. Despite allegations of decades of sexual coercion and of tax evasion, no criminal proceeding has ever been brought against him.
Where things stand. Living, as of the most recent reporting (2024), and still leading the Buddhafield group in HAWAII at a low profile — reportedly teaching yoga at LANIKAI BEACH, with the group recruiting through yoga sessions and studios and maintaining an online presence. Born in VENEZUELA, he went to Hollywood as an aspiring actor before forming the group in the 1980s, and has been known successively as MICHEL, ANDREAS, THE TEACHER and REYJI. HE HAS NEVER BEEN CRIMINALLY CHARGED, despite allegations of sexual assault and tax fraud. A NOTE ON SOURCES: most accessible recent writing about him is entertainment coverage generated by a streaming documentary series rather than reporting, and this file treats its detail accordingly.
- c.1985 Group forms in West Hollywood.
- 1992 The group moves to Austin, Texas.
- 2000s The group fractures over the allegations; Will Allen leaves in 2007. He moves to Oahu, Hawaii, with the remaining followers, later as 'Reyji'.
- 25 JANUARY 2016 Holy Hell premieres at Sundance. He dismisses it as a work of fiction designed to create drama, fear and persecution.
Checked 2026-09-17 · living: health details are kept at home
### Will Allen
—
Buddhafield defector and documentarian · born c.1960 · active 1985–2007
Before the law. Never charged.
Where things stand. Living — no death record found; nothing consulted reports on his projects since the film’s release period. He joined the Los Angeles-area group in 1985 as a recent film-school graduate and served as ITS OFFICIAL VIDEOGRAPHER FOR TWENTY-TWO YEARS, filming almost everything it did. He assembled HOLY HELL from that footage over four years after leaving; it PREMIERED AT SUNDANCE IN JANUARY 2016 and was released on 27 MAY 2016. The group’s own archive, shot by a believer, became the evidence against it.
- 1985 Joins Buddhafield; becomes its videographer.
- 1985–2006 Films the group continuously for 22 years.
- 2006 The group fractures; he leaves with the archive.
- 2016 Holy Hell premieres at the Sundance Film Festival.
Checked 2026-08-24 · living: health details are kept at home
The Atlas The Door