Combat! fan Red Dragon brought this comment to the Combat Discussion List's attention that was published on the IMDb web site. I think it is a wonderful tribute to Vic Morrow's artistic skill. The author of this tribute is "rcastagnaro... Near dallas, TX, USA"

Date: 3 January 2000
Summary: Everything I learned about leadership, I learned from Sgt. Saunders.

I am a Lt Col in the US Military reserves. I was an operational combat arms leader for many years. I am now a senior manager in industry. I did not realize until I began recording and viewing reruns of Combat! that Sergeant Chip Saunders was a Samurai warrior (in the finest tradition of Akira Kurisawa) placed into the role of a Squad leader in a U.S. Army Infantry Platoon in France in WWII. His portrayal is pure Zen! I have been unknowingly imitating him my entire life. I am thankful for it. People who work for me seem to be too.

By Brenda Koehler (Jasmine) on Unrecorded Date:

What a cool message! What qualities of a Samurai evoke this comparison? Is it because they are bound by a strict moral code or are there more specific details? I think it would be interesting if someone could enlarge on this concept.

By Nathaniel Bridger (Nathaniel) on Unrecorded Date:

The code of Bushido --"Way of the Warrior"--indeed had personal "honor" at its heart. But the Samurai were also devotees of Zen Buddhism (as opposed to the Shinto that was the official "state religion" of Feudal Japan). The tenets of Zen hold that Truth is found in seeming contradictions: "He who wins, also loses" and that kind of thing. In Zen there are no "right" answers to most dilemmas, and only he who "expects nothing" --including victory, or even personal survival--gains in the end. a fanous Zen "Warrior Poem" goes something like this:

"Under the lifted sword,
Hell's mouth yawns wide;
Pass resolutely through--
And a heaven of Bliss awaits."


So--would YOU say Saunders shows the "Samurai attitude?" Class dismissed.....*Grin*

By Brenda Koehler (Jasmine) on Unrecorded Date:

Nathaniel, thanks for your extremely knowledgeable post. I am not an authority on Zen, but one thing I understand to be at the heart of it is the ability to accept the present moment as perfect and inherently good, no matter what awful things are actually occurring. This discipline of the will to embrace whatever situation one finds oneself in rules out by its nature wanting anything other than what you are presently experiencing. So by being perfectly reconciled to the circumstance you are in, you cause the appeal of expectations or anticipated outcomes to evaporate, even ones as basic as victory in battle or personal survival. This trick of truly wanting what you've got as opposed to getting what you want is hard as hell to achieve but one indicator of how adept someone is at it is how positive an attitude that person has. So I would have to say--Yes, Saunders has got the Samurai business pretty well down since he's positive under the most grimly oppressive circumstances. He's positive even when it seems foolhardy and detrimental to his safety, positive when it jeopardizes his credibility in situations where everyone else has given up, positive to losers who sneer at him for it. This ironclad equanimity and reluctance to judge are qualities basic to the nurturing vision Zen compels. Another way Saunders shows respect for the present moment is that he never lets his men wander into the realm of hypothetical thought in a battle situation, yanking them back down to earth before the words, "I wish" or "if only" are barely out of their mouths. Years before Ram Dass distilled Eastern thought into "Be Here Now", the Sarge was putting its lessons into practice. In my own experience I have found through some paradoxical quirk in the universe, that whenever I meet a situation with meek acquiescence, I am more likely to ultimately prevail, whether its through a more enlightened perspective, the good will it generates, or just the sudden windfall of good fortune. Just skirting the edges of a very old and deep subject, but fascinating stuff just the same.

By Terry Pierce (Bayonet) on Unrecorded Date:

Hm...according to what I've just read, being positive and having a positive attitude is: 1) being able to accept the present moment as *perfect* and inherently *good*, 2) *embracing* whatever situation one finds oneself in, 3) *being perfectly reconciled to the circumstances one finds oneself in*, 4) wanting what you've got as opposed to getting what you want, and 5) having a reluctance to judge.

While this may be intellectually stimulating and certainly appeals to the basic human desire to be autonomous, how it pans out in the TV show 'Combat!' - and more importantly, the "real world" circa. 1935-1945 - is worth looking at.

In the TV series, the character of Saunders is forever striving to *change* the world he's in. He's constantly fighting against "bad guys" and the injustices and cruelties they inflict upon those they're oppressing; constantly trying to right the wrongs he sees and encounters; constantly seeking to "win" the battles he's engaged in - whether they're encounters with German combat units, or private skirmishes that pit him against disagreeable individuals who attempt to thwart his desire/intent to 'do justice' and 'right wrongs'. To peg Saunders as someone who "expects nothing" and accepts the circumstances around him is pretty interesting in light of the fact that on the show he not only expects, but *demands* the utmost of both himself and his men in his quest to succeed in bringing about change in his world (ie, winning the war).

In regards to "real life" and the things posted above, I have to confess that I'm deeply offended by the suggestion that the horrific suffering and deaths of millions upon millions of people should be accepted and embraced as being perfect and inherently good. How unfeeling these philosophies and ruminations would have been (and are) to the fathers and mothers whose children were ripped from their arms and gassed; to the civilian populations and military prisoners who were mercilessly denied justice, imprisoned, tortured, starved, and exterminated; to the families who were uprooted and torn apart, never to be reunited; and to the soldiers who fought at great personal risk and cost to themselves and their families to put a stop to these kinds of horrors.

I'd have to say that if I was an Anne Frank, I'd pray for someone who wasn't quite so inwardly focused and "positive" to be assigned my rescuer.

My God.

By Nathaniel Bridger (Nathaniel) on Unrecorded Date:

Whoa...are the ants absconding with the elephant??? A few definitions are in order:

In Zen paralance, "being focused" means being acutely aware of one's self and one's surroundings: a Zen-trained Samurai, for instance, could never theoretically be "blindsided" by an opponent.

"Expecting nothing" means not being distracted by optimism, despair, or fear: the poem I quoted was written by a Zen Monk for a young Samurai awaiting his first battle.

Zen is NOT about "inaction": a Navel-Gazing Samurai would be of no use to himself, his Shogun or his Emperor. Zen actions are impassionate, direct and decisive, directed by a trained and keen intuition that makes the doer fully informed of the situation.

"Shanti"--
Nat.

By Brenda Koehler (Jasmine) on Unrecorded Date:

Bayonet, I don't know what you're using to navigate here, but I never said being positive meant having the viewpoint set forth in conditions 1,2,3,4, and 5 of your post. I said they're fundamentals of zen Buddhism and one sign of having mastered them was an ability to have a positive attitude under the most trying circumstances. Then I said Saunders often seemed to have such an ability, and if I had to say one way or the other did he subscribe to Zen teachings, the evidence of this attitude would dispose me to say yes. The "expect nothing" is more along the lines of "I won't expect more than what I've got right here and now to make this situation work" which automatically demands the utmost of someone because they're not depending on extenuating circumstances. I read over what I wrote about Zen and I have to admit it sounds completely nuts and makes no sense at all. What's more, I can't make it make sense. It's mysticism, Christ was a mystic and is I would have written something like, "If your enemy smites you on one cheek, turn the other to him," or "Judge not, that ye be not judged", or "Forgive them for they know not what they do"< it would have the same disconcerting flavor of being impervious to injustice. These are teachings meant to be practiced in your own daily personal life to master the will and make you a better person, not to be taken out and superimposed against a backdrop of human suffering to make their pacifist message sound uncaring. Your notion that I'm somehow comfortable with the suffering of WWII and the Holocaust is simply bizarre and nothing but the product of your own wayward reasoning. I put an admittedly unorthodox idea out on the site-- maybe unpopular, unintelligible, or downright goofy. It was still made in good faith and I don't see why it should have an uncivil response.

By Terry Pierce (Bayonet) on Unrecorded Date:

In my understanding, Zen is about achieving intuitive, introspective, subjective 'truth' using koans (paradoxal questions) and zezen (seated meditation). The practitioner of Zen wants to empty his mind so he'll achieve satori, a state in which he realizes that all reality is one (and, consequently, there are no rights and no wrongs). As Alan Watts put it, "At this moment, [the universe] is so completely right as to need no explanation or justification beyond what it simply is."

(In light of this, one sort of wonders how Bodhidharma ever justified his monks using the martial arts he developed for self defense. After all, why not just peacefully accept being attacked by a mugger as "what simply is?")

Ahem. Anyway, this is still one ant who'd have an awfully tough time explaining these ideas to an inmate at Auschwitz or a GI lying in a hospital with his legs blown off. Maybe the incredibly strong and self-disciplined person would find hope and comfort in it, but I suspect a lot of people wouldn't.

Instead, methinks most of us would prefer that a Saunders ride to our rescue and set things right - all the while confirming that wrong is wrong and unacceptable.

Ah...heroes and rescue operations. They make for good TV and a good life.

Thanks for the interesting discussion, you guys.

By Nancy LionStorm (349hvywpnscrew) on Unrecorded Date:

So much has been said about Zen in this discussion. I practiced Zen meditation, aka za-zen, at the NY Zen Studies Society for several years in the seventies under the tutorledge of Eido Roshi. Although I discontinued the practice of za-zen there was one thing I learned about Zen through my own experience, the experience of long-time practitioners, and the experience of the enlightened Roshi. And that was that the Zen mind is obtained through the practice of empty mind. Empty mind is obtained through single-minded focus. It is not obtained by talking about Zen or reading about Zen. It is all too easy to romantisize that an individual one admires could, having reached Satori, have a Zen mind.

And as much as I love the thought of Saunders having a Zen warrior's mind (I practiced/studied karate for 6 years), there is no indication anywhere in Combat! that Saunders at any time practiced za-zen or any other form of meditation. Therefore any similarities between Saunders' demeanor and that of the archetypal samurai warrior, must be purely superficial.

However, if it is Vic Morrow's performance that is "pure Zen" as the Colonel stated in his post, then that is a totally different issue. Did Vic Morrow practise za-zen or another form of single minded focus/meditation?

By Nathaniel Bridger (Nathaniel) on Unrecorded Date:

Okay--let's put a lid on this Basket of Anacondas, while the Elephant runs away: (Zen humor.)

In episodes like "One More For the Road", "The First Day", and "More Than a Soldier", Saunders (the Character, that is) is Zen's "Ideal Warrior"... focussed; aware; adaptable; decisive. When disaster (or tragedy) strikes, he's not interested in assigning blame --just dealing with the results. And in EACH episode, he sees than an action begun is carried to its "proper" conclusion -- a Zen "essential".

(Interesting aside: in both "Retribution" and "Gadjo", Saunders deals dispassionately with men he knows to be sadists and killers: is this 'accepting' what they have done.... or just not being emotionally swayed by it?)

Now on the other hand, in "The Letter" and "Conflict", Saunders appears as 'centered' as a bag of bowling balls. So...the question is: did any of the WRITERS practise "Meditation"?

***Exit, to the sound of one hand very feebly clapping.

By Nancy LionStorm (349hvywpnscrew) on Unrecorded Date:

Nathaniel refers to Saunders behavior in specific episodes. Saunders' behavior springs from non-Zen philosophical, religious and spiritual tenants. Just because an apple is red and round does not mean that the apple is a red ball of yarn (also red and round). Likewise a non-Zen Mind individual's actions can be the same as the actions of an individual who has a Zen Mind, but that does not mean that both individuals are the same. Superficial similarities do not equate to anything more than what they are - superficial similarities.

By Nancy LionStorm (349hvywpnscrew) on Unrecorded Date:

P.S. The only way to know what I'm talking about is to begin the discipline of za-zen. There are zendos throughout the country where one can do so under expert tutorlege. After a while you'll see how unimportant all these words (including mine) really are.

By Brenda Koehler (Jasmine) on Unrecorded Date:

I've been meditating and sitting za-zen(with and without expert teachers) for years and I thought Nathaniel's analogies were very insightful and pertinent.

By MICHELE LARGEY (Camoufanne) (216.20.102.98) on Thursday, June 27, 2002 - 11:16 pm:

Hi -
Here's my input after scanning the above: I don't think Sgt. Saunders ever heard of Zen. I think he was raised in a predominantly Judeo-
Christian culture (early 20th-century United States of America) based on the Ten Commandments. Hence his commitment to liberty & the value of life. Camoufanne

By Jeffery Hahn (Whiterookover) (24.209.53.20) on Wednesday, January 29, 2003 - 02:49 am:

I don't know much about Zen, but I must agree with the original post. I watched Combat! every week while growing up in the 1960's. It is only now, watching the reruns that I realize that many of my successes are due to what I learned from Sgt. Saunders...and also reinforced by my father. For example, whether you like the job or not isn't important. If you are given a job you do your darnest to get it done to the best of your ability. A man's (person's) word is his bond. When in charge, you can delegate responsibility, but you can never delegate accountability. I can't cite the exact episodes in which illustrations of these principles appear, but many are certainly prevelant in most shows.

By Louis Vierne (Louisvierne) (198.77.24.106) on Wednesday, January 29, 2003 - 11:50 pm:

I have read this entire thread with great interest and appreciation (rarely does anything this good turn up in a "discussion group". I do not argue with the Zen-like aspects shown in Saunder's character many times, but I especially liked Jeff Hahn's post of Jan. 29th. More than anything, Saunders is a typification of "The Greatest Generation". Even when something is abhorrent to you, if it's the job that needs to be done, it's the job you do, and you do it to the best of your ability. Perhaps seen best (in my opinion) in "Hills are for Heroes", when the men approach outright mutiny, and Saunders still doggedly holds them to the assigned task. In the character of Sgt. Saunders, it is difficult to tell where the genius of the writers leaves off,
and the genius of Vic Morrow takes over, sometimes. But he was one of the very best.

Louis VIerne

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