#suzuki samurai 1987 parts

[nokogiribiki]

NOKO 125 - Rotten To The Score

original soundtracks, noir, GLS

NOKO 125 - Rotten To The Score

in this production our in-house 4:3 aspect ratio meets the 16:9 Gleichlaufschwankung for a mind experience in anamorphic widescreen. film classic soundtracks from the last 56 years come together. Gleichlaufgiribiki extract all that cruel & pleasant sounds from the background direct to your oul radio. what you hear is glorious stereo from the good analogue proceeding plus chiaroscuros effect.

「 download 」

125 intro. John Carpenter - music, sound effects and dialogue excerpts part 1 >>> Dark Star (John Carpenter / 1974) 003: Klaus Schulze - freeze >>> Angst (Gerald Kargl / 1983) 010. Zdeněk Liška - witches firewall >>> The Little Mermaid (Karel Kachyňa / 1976) 011: Angelo Badalamenti w/ The City Of Prague Philharmonic - mulholland drive >>> Mulholland Drive (David Lynch / 2001) 015: Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson - journey >>> Children Of Nature (Friðrik Þór Friðriksson / 1991) 019. Mike Patton - forest of conscience >>> A Place Beyond The Pines (Derek Cianfrance / 2013) 022: Charlie Clouser - main titles >>> Dead Silence (James Wan / 2007) 025. Lalo Schifrin - torture sequence / prison talk sequence >>> THX 1138 (George Lucas / 1971) 028: Joseph Trapanese, Aria Prayogi, Fajar Yuskemal - showdown >>> The Raid 2 (Gareth Evans / 2014) 034: Paul Hertzog - samoan balls >>> Bloodsport (Newt Arnold / 1988) 036: Trevor Jones w/ Courtney Pine - i got this thing about chickens >>> Angel Heart (Alan Parker / 1987) 040. Bernard Herrmann - diary of a taxi driver >>> Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese / 1976) 044. Bernard Herrmann - vertigo prelude and rooftop >>> Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock / 1958) 048: Clint Mansell - "we're not programs, gerty, we're people" >>> Moon (Duncan Jones / 2009) 053. Biosphere - field >>> Insomnia (Erik Skjoldbjærg / 1997) 058: Burkhard Dallwitz - underground / storm >>> The Truman Show (Peter Weir / 1998) 061. Vangelis - wait for me >>> Blade Runner (Ridley Scott / 1982) 066: John Carpenter & Alan Howarth - junkins >>> Christine (John Carpenter / 1983) 069. Daktari Lorenz - katzi >>> Nekromantik (Jörg Buttgereit / 1987) 071: Laibach - moon attack potpourri >>> Iron Sky (Timo Vuorensola / 2012) 074. Le Syndicat Electronique - passion >>> Lebenspornografie (Edwin Brienen / 2003) 076: Michel Rubini & Denny Jaeger - beach house >>> The Hunger (Tony Scott / 1983) 079. Alejandro Jodorowsky, Don Cherry, Ronald Frangipane - rainbow room >>> The Holy Mountain (Alejandro Jodorowsky / 1973) 082. Zhao Jiping - summer >>> Raise The Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou / 1991) 083: Joseph LoDuca - ascent / inflection >>> The Evil Dead (Sam Raimi / 1981) 085: Daniel Licht - blood theme >>> Dexter (2006-2013) 087. Hermann Kopp - drunk >>> Nekromantik (Jörg Buttgereit / 1987) 091: Mike Patton - weight of consequences (quod erat demonstrandum) >>> The Solitude Of Prime Numbers (Saverio Costanzo / 2010) 095. Howard Shore - accident... accident... >>> Crash (David Cronenberg / 1996) 098: Angelo Badalamenti - theme from twin peaks - fire walk with me >>> Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me (David Lynch / 1992) 104. Michael Galasso - angkor wat theme finale >>> In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-Wei / 2000) 107: Keiichi Suzuki - a house on fire and massacres all over >>> Zatōichi (Takeshi Kitano / 2003) 118: The RZA - opening theme (raise your sword instrumental) >>> Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (Jim Jarmusch / 1999)

2014-09-15 . noko 125 . radio blau 2014-09-20 : gls-128 : radio corax 2021-11-26 . fsk hamburg

[eddiejpoplar]

Right at Home: We Tackle the Rubicon Trail in a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

In the year 49 B.C., emperor Julius Caesar led his troops across the Rubicon River into Italy, an egregious act of aggression that caused much peeing of pants among Roman senators, who fled rather than face the civil war Caesar’s act was sure to incite. “The die is cast,” Caesar said shortly after drying off, thus coining one of two phrases that resulted from his actions.

The other: “crossing the Rubicon,” which has come to mean “to commit oneself irrevocably,” perhaps to the point of no return.

That’s a good attitude to have when you climb into a Jeep to tackle the Rubicon Trail, en route to California’s own little Rubicon River and beyond. Located near Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border, the Rubicon Trail is “a 10 out of 10,” says Pearse Umlauf, president and CEO of Jeep Jamboree USA. He and his company have rated Jeep trails across the country, from 1 (you can make it on your Big Wheel) to 10 (only experienced, serious off-roaders need apply). Umlauf and his crew would be our guides, helping us steer over and around the rocks: “Left, left! Now right, right, right!”

I was last here in 1992. Then it was the 4.0-liter inline-six with a three-speed automatic; today it’s a 3.6-liter V-6 with an eight-speed automatic.

Many of the journalists on this particular trip, convened by Jeep to show off its new 2018 Wrangler Rubicon, were not experienced but there’s something about facing off against boulders twice the size of a buffet table. The latter is what automotive journalists are typically used to steering around on press trips.

I was last here in 1992, then as now in a Jeep Wrangler, but a very different one: It was a rectangular-headlight YJ, which replaced the Jeep CJ in the 1987 model year, soldiering on until it was replaced 10 years later with the TJ and a welcome return to round headlights. Also then as now, I drove a six-cylinder Wrangler with an automatic transmission—in 1992 it was the 4.0-liter inline-six with a three-speed automatic; today it’s a 3.6-liter V-6 with an eight-speed automatic.

Actually, given the span of 26-plus years, maybe the new Wrangler isn’t so different. Which is, of course, part of its charm. With the possible exception of a Porsche, the Jeep would likely be the only modern vehicle recognizable to any unfortunate human stranded on a desert island for, say, the last 70 years.

This created a substantial challenge for people like Scott Tallon, director of the Jeep brand, and his designers and engineers. They needed to craft the first new Wrangler in 11 years, somehow keeping its character as the most traditional mainstream vehicle on the road yet bringing it to within the latest safety, comfort, and performance parameters. Especially for the Wrangler Rubicon, the most off-road-capable Jeep model since the marque introduced it in 2003.

Suggestions that would have made it easier to build were largely dismissed: Get rid of the fold-down windshield (they didn’t); get rid of the removable doors (they didn’t). And most of all, get rid of that ancient solid-axle front and rear and bring the Wrangler into the 20th century with all-independent suspension. One engineer suggested they do just that for this new Wrangler, dubbed the JL. “That person doesn’t work at Jeep anymore,” Brian Lees, the Wrangler’s chief engineer, said.

Although we did get from one end of the Rubicon to the other in 1992, this new Jeep makes it a lot easier. The first thing we did was disconnect the sway bars, a task that once required wrenches but now happens at the touch of a button; this gives you considerably more wheel travel. And we could lock the front or rear differentials, or both, again by pressing a button, though we only needed to lock the diffs in the most extreme situations.

Although independent suspensions work best in almost every other application, you can’t beat solid axles for serious off-roading.

The V-6 has plenty of torque—260 lb-ft—but that’s measured at a carlike 4,800 rpm, and the Wrangler is more like a truck. Consequently, even in low range, we’d get a squirt of power when we were only looking for a few drops. Left-foot braking helped solve that issue.

It took us the better part of a day, seldom exceeding 3 mph, to reach the Rubicon Springs campground. We “glamped” in tents set up a few feet from the banks of the Rubicon River. A helicopter visited a couple of times to haul in supplies and haul out trash.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the difference between the two-and four-door models. We did the portion to Rubicon Springs in a two-door, which is 166.8 inches long, 21.6 inches shorter than the four-door. Similarly, the two-door’s wheelbase is just 96.8 inches, 21.6 inches shorter than the four-door. So it should be a lot more nimble, right? Not necessarily. While the turning diameter is 5 inches shorter in the two-door, it wasn’t noticeable. Just as on the highway, we actually preferred the way the four-door handled off-road—more comfortable, more predictable, less jarring.

Which is not to say there weren’t tight spots. Eventually we got used to hearing our Jeep bottom out hard against the skidplates and to feeling the way the steel rock rails, beneath the rocker panels, scuffed against boulders. The massive Dana axles front and rear were a welcome overkill. Yes, there were scratches and scrapes underneath the Jeep afterward, but in the end the only cosmetic damage we spotted during a normal walkaround was the round tailpipe that was, well, no longer round.

Much of this is due to the Rubicon’s generous 10.8-inch ground clearance, about an inch more than the regular Wrangler. Approach angle is an amazing 44 degrees, and departure angle is 37 degrees. The standard Rubicon tire is the BFGoodrich K02 All-Terrain LT285/70R17C, but our Jeep was fitted with the slightly more capable 33-inch BFG KM3. The tires were surprisingly quiet on pavement; in fact, the Jeep Rubicon is pretty quiet, with one major exception: As you rock-crawl, the electric cooling fan comes on with a roar that you just have to get used to.

As usual, the colorfully named sections of the trail that have reputations as being the toughest—Little Sluice, Soup Bowl, and the infamous Cadillac Hill—were so named for a reason. There is, for example, a wrecked 1930s-era Cadillac down there in the woods. Indeed, the Rubicon Trail’s history—even recent history— suggests it is not a place to trifle with. There have been at least three fatalities on the trail since 2012, including one each in 2016 and 2017, which occurred when an unbelted occupant was thrown out as their vehicle rolled over.

The Rubicon Trail’s very existence is somewhat amazing, and that’s not for lack of critics who’ve tried to shut it down despite its history spanning multiple centuries. The Washoe and Maidu-Nisenan tribes traversed the trail long before a military party “discovered” it around 1844. In 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill on the South Fork American River, and invading prospectors used the trail. In the late 1800s, Rubicon Springs, the privately owned campground at about the route’s halfway point, became a source of mineral water craved by the health-conscious, and a prosperous bottling industry was born.

Lodges followed, including a two-and-a-half-story hotel serviced daily by a four-horse carriage. But by the 1920s, tourism died and the Rubicon was used mostly by hunters, fishermen, and loggers.

Then, in 1953, avid off-roader Mark Smith hosted the inaugural jamboree, with 55 Jeeps, most of them military-surplus. The off-road guru remained a central caretaker of the Rubicon Trail and an important face of off-roading in general until he died in 2014 at the age of 87. Smith hosted my first trip along the Rubicon in 1992. His former son-in-law, Jeep Jamboree USA’s Umlauf, continues the tradition. “Mark fought for years the threat of the trail being closed,” Umlauf recalled, countering efforts from environmental groups and even the U.S. Forest Service. That’s one reason Smith and a group of investors bought the land at Rubicon Springs: “He reasoned that they could never close him off from his own property.”

The trail last faced a major crisis thanks to a water-quality board concerned about erosion and pollution, largely from silt. But El Dorado County, with help from groups like Umlauf’s, as well as Friends of the Rubicon and a dozen other entities, stepped up to create a master plan for the trail, which the county saw as a major tourist attraction. It worked. The Rubicon Trail, once darkened by trash, spilled oil, drunks, and even some graffiti, is now downright spotless, and the people you meet along the route seem intent on keeping it that way.

Such as two veteran off-roaders we met during a break in the trip—one driving a Toyota truck, the other an old Jeep Cherokee, both stripped of all but the most essential parts, which apparently did not include doors, windows, or an interior. “We just love off-roading,” one said. “If we come to a fork that’s clear trail one way and a rock the size of a Volkswagen the other way, we’re taking on the rock.”

Mark Smith would be proud.

You Want to Drive the Rubicon?

The Rubicon Trail hosts multiple off-road events each year, but the two best known and most popular are the Jeep Jamboree and the Jeepers Jamboree. Yes, despite their so-similar names, they are two separate events. The Jeep Jamboree is smaller, shorter, and more exclusive, and it encourages families. The Jeepers Jamboree offers more of an “adult atmosphere” and allows non-Jeep vehicles, including Toyota Land Cruisers, Toyota trucks, Suzuki Samurais, International Harvester Scouts, and pre-1979 Ford Broncos. Jeep Jamboree, however, requires that you drive a 1987–2019 Jeep Wrangler, with older Jeeps or non-Wrangler models requiring prior approval.

Prices per person are about $400 to $500 and include different amenities. The Jeepers Jamboree is typically in July; the Jeep Jamboree is in August. You can register online. Make sure you do so early, as there’s usually a waiting list.

jeepersjamboree.com  |  jeepjamboreeusa.com

2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Specifications

PRICE $44,940/$51,220 (base/as tested) ENGINE 3.6L DOHC 24-valve V-6; 285 hp @ 6,400 rpm, 260 lb-ft @ 4,800 rpm TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic LAYOUT 4-door, 5-passenger, front-engine, 4WD SUV EPA MILEAGE 18/23 mpg (city/hwy) L x W x H 188.4 x 73.8 x 73.6 in WHEELBASE 118.4 in WEIGHT 4,145 lb 0–60 MPH 7.4 sec (est) TOP SPEED 100 mph (governed)

from Performance Junk Blogger 6 https://www.automobilemag.com/news/jeep-wrangler-rubicon-rubicon-trail-feature/ via IFTTT

[jesusvasser]

Right at Home: We Tackle the Rubicon Trail in a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

In the year 49 B.C., emperor Julius Caesar led his troops across the Rubicon River into Italy, an egregious act of aggression that caused much peeing of pants among Roman senators, who fled rather than face the civil war Caesar’s act was sure to incite. “The die is cast,” Caesar said shortly after drying off, thus coining one of two phrases that resulted from his actions.

The other: “crossing the Rubicon,” which has come to mean “to commit oneself irrevocably,” perhaps to the point of no return.

That’s a good attitude to have when you climb into a Jeep to tackle the Rubicon Trail, en route to California’s own little Rubicon River and beyond. Located near Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border, the Rubicon Trail is “a 10 out of 10,” says Pearse Umlauf, president and CEO of Jeep Jamboree USA. He and his company have rated Jeep trails across the country, from 1 (you can make it on your Big Wheel) to 10 (only experienced, serious off-roaders need apply). Umlauf and his crew would be our guides, helping us steer over and around the rocks: “Left, left! Now right, right, right!”

I was last here in 1992. Then it was the 4.0-liter inline-six with a three-speed automatic; today it’s a 3.6-liter V-6 with an eight-speed automatic.

Many of the journalists on this particular trip, convened by Jeep to show off its new 2018 Wrangler Rubicon, were not experienced but there���s something about facing off against boulders twice the size of a buffet table. The latter is what automotive journalists are typically used to steering around on press trips.

I was last here in 1992, then as now in a Jeep Wrangler, but a very different one: It was a rectangular-headlight YJ, which replaced the Jeep CJ in the 1987 model year, soldiering on until it was replaced 10 years later with the TJ and a welcome return to round headlights. Also then as now, I drove a six-cylinder Wrangler with an automatic transmission—in 1992 it was the 4.0-liter inline-six with a three-speed automatic; today it’s a 3.6-liter V-6 with an eight-speed automatic.

Actually, given the span of 26-plus years, maybe the new Wrangler isn’t so different. Which is, of course, part of its charm. With the possible exception of a Porsche, the Jeep would likely be the only modern vehicle recognizable to any unfortunate human stranded on a desert island for, say, the last 70 years.

This created a substantial challenge for people like Scott Tallon, director of the Jeep brand, and his designers and engineers. They needed to craft the first new Wrangler in 11 years, somehow keeping its character as the most traditional mainstream vehicle on the road yet bringing it to within the latest safety, comfort, and performance parameters. Especially for the Wrangler Rubicon, the most off-road-capable Jeep model since the marque introduced it in 2003.

Suggestions that would have made it easier to build were largely dismissed: Get rid of the fold-down windshield (they didn’t); get rid of the removable doors (they didn’t). And most of all, get rid of that ancient solid-axle front and rear and bring the Wrangler into the 20th century with all-independent suspension. One engineer suggested they do just that for this new Wrangler, dubbed the JL. “That person doesn’t work at Jeep anymore,” Brian Lees, the Wrangler’s chief engineer, said.

Although we did get from one end of the Rubicon to the other in 1992, this new Jeep makes it a lot easier. The first thing we did was disconnect the sway bars, a task that once required wrenches but now happens at the touch of a button; this gives you considerably more wheel travel. And we could lock the front or rear differentials, or both, again by pressing a button, though we only needed to lock the diffs in the most extreme situations.

Although independent suspensions work best in almost every other application, you can’t beat solid axles for serious off-roading.

The V-6 has plenty of torque—260 lb-ft—but that’s measured at a carlike 4,800 rpm, and the Wrangler is more like a truck. Consequently, even in low range, we’d get a squirt of power when we were only looking for a few drops. Left-foot braking helped solve that issue.

It took us the better part of a day, seldom exceeding 3 mph, to reach the Rubicon Springs campground. We “glamped” in tents set up a few feet from the banks of the Rubicon River. A helicopter visited a couple of times to haul in supplies and haul out trash.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the difference between the two-and four-door models. We did the portion to Rubicon Springs in a two-door, which is 166.8 inches long, 21.6 inches shorter than the four-door. Similarly, the two-door’s wheelbase is just 96.8 inches, 21.6 inches shorter than the four-door. So it should be a lot more nimble, right? Not necessarily. While the turning diameter is 5 inches shorter in the two-door, it wasn’t noticeable. Just as on the highway, we actually preferred the way the four-door handled off-road—more comfortable, more predictable, less jarring.

Which is not to say there weren’t tight spots. Eventually we got used to hearing our Jeep bottom out hard against the skidplates and to feeling the way the steel rock rails, beneath the rocker panels, scuffed against boulders. The massive Dana axles front and rear were a welcome overkill. Yes, there were scratches and scrapes underneath the Jeep afterward, but in the end the only cosmetic damage we spotted during a normal walkaround was the round tailpipe that was, well, no longer round.

Much of this is due to the Rubicon’s generous 10.8-inch ground clearance, about an inch more than the regular Wrangler. Approach angle is an amazing 44 degrees, and departure angle is 37 degrees. The standard Rubicon tire is the BFGoodrich K02 All-Terrain LT285/70R17C, but our Jeep was fitted with the slightly more capable 33-inch BFG KM3. The tires were surprisingly quiet on pavement; in fact, the Jeep Rubicon is pretty quiet, with one major exception: As you rock-crawl, the electric cooling fan comes on with a roar that you just have to get used to.

As usual, the colorfully named sections of the trail that have reputations as being the toughest—Little Sluice, Soup Bowl, and the infamous Cadillac Hill—were so named for a reason. There is, for example, a wrecked 1930s-era Cadillac down there in the woods. Indeed, the Rubicon Trail’s history—even recent history— suggests it is not a place to trifle with. There have been at least three fatalities on the trail since 2012, including one each in 2016 and 2017, which occurred when an unbelted occupant was thrown out as their vehicle rolled over.

The Rubicon Trail’s very existence is somewhat amazing, and that’s not for lack of critics who’ve tried to shut it down despite its history spanning multiple centuries. The Washoe and Maidu-Nisenan tribes traversed the trail long before a military party “discovered” it around 1844. In 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill on the South Fork American River, and invading prospectors used the trail. In the late 1800s, Rubicon Springs, the privately owned campground at about the route’s halfway point, became a source of mineral water craved by the health-conscious, and a prosperous bottling industry was born.

Lodges followed, including a two-and-a-half-story hotel serviced daily by a four-horse carriage. But by the 1920s, tourism died and the Rubicon was used mostly by hunters, fishermen, and loggers.

Then, in 1953, avid off-roader Mark Smith hosted the inaugural jamboree, with 55 Jeeps, most of them military-surplus. The off-road guru remained a central caretaker of the Rubicon Trail and an important face of off-roading in general until he died in 2014 at the age of 87. Smith hosted my first trip along the Rubicon in 1992. His former son-in-law, Jeep Jamboree USA’s Umlauf, continues the tradition. “Mark fought for years the threat of the trail being closed,” Umlauf recalled, countering efforts from environmental groups and even the U.S. Forest Service. That’s one reason Smith and a group of investors bought the land at Rubicon Springs: “He reasoned that they could never close him off from his own property.”

The trail last faced a major crisis thanks to a water-quality board concerned about erosion and pollution, largely from silt. But El Dorado County, with help from groups like Umlauf’s, as well as Friends of the Rubicon and a dozen other entities, stepped up to create a master plan for the trail, which the county saw as a major tourist attraction. It worked. The Rubicon Trail, once darkened by trash, spilled oil, drunks, and even some graffiti, is now downright spotless, and the people you meet along the route seem intent on keeping it that way.

Such as two veteran off-roaders we met during a break in the trip—one driving a Toyota truck, the other an old Jeep Cherokee, both stripped of all but the most essential parts, which apparently did not include doors, windows, or an interior. “We just love off-roading,” one said. “If we come to a fork that’s clear trail one way and a rock the size of a Volkswagen the other way, we’re taking on the rock.”

Mark Smith would be proud.

You Want to Drive the Rubicon?

The Rubicon Trail hosts multiple off-road events each year, but the two best known and most popular are the Jeep Jamboree and the Jeepers Jamboree. Yes, despite their so-similar names, they are two separate events. The Jeep Jamboree is smaller, shorter, and more exclusive, and it encourages families. The Jeepers Jamboree offers more of an “adult atmosphere” and allows non-Jeep vehicles, including Toyota Land Cruisers, Toyota trucks, Suzuki Samurais, International Harvester Scouts, and pre-1979 Ford Broncos. Jeep Jamboree, however, requires that you drive a 1987–2019 Jeep Wrangler, with older Jeeps or non-Wrangler models requiring prior approval.

Prices per person are about $400 to $500 and include different amenities. The Jeepers Jamboree is typically in July; the Jeep Jamboree is in August. You can register online. Make sure you do so early, as there’s usually a waiting list.

jeepersjamboree.com  |  jeepjamboreeusa.com

2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Specifications

PRICE $44,940/$51,220 (base/as tested) ENGINE 3.6L DOHC 24-valve V-6; 285 hp @ 6,400 rpm, 260 lb-ft @ 4,800 rpm TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic LAYOUT 4-door, 5-passenger, front-engine, 4WD SUV EPA MILEAGE 18/23 mpg (city/hwy) L x W x H 188.4 x 73.8 x 73.6 in WHEELBASE 118.4 in WEIGHT 4,145 lb 0–60 MPH 7.4 sec (est) TOP SPEED 100 mph (governed)

from Performance Junk WP Feed 4 https://www.automobilemag.com/news/jeep-wrangler-rubicon-rubicon-trail-feature/ via IFTTT

[jonathanbelloblog]

Right at Home: We Tackle the Rubicon Trail in a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

In the year 49 B.C., emperor Julius Caesar led his troops across the Rubicon River into Italy, an egregious act of aggression that caused much peeing of pants among Roman senators, who fled rather than face the civil war Caesar’s act was sure to incite. “The die is cast,” Caesar said shortly after drying off, thus coining one of two phrases that resulted from his actions.

The other: “crossing the Rubicon,” which has come to mean “to commit oneself irrevocably,” perhaps to the point of no return.

That’s a good attitude to have when you climb into a Jeep to tackle the Rubicon Trail, en route to California’s own little Rubicon River and beyond. Located near Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border, the Rubicon Trail is “a 10 out of 10,” says Pearse Umlauf, president and CEO of Jeep Jamboree USA. He and his company have rated Jeep trails across the country, from 1 (you can make it on your Big Wheel) to 10 (only experienced, serious off-roaders need apply). Umlauf and his crew would be our guides, helping us steer over and around the rocks: “Left, left! Now right, right, right!”

I was last here in 1992. Then it was the 4.0-liter inline-six with a three-speed automatic; today it’s a 3.6-liter V-6 with an eight-speed automatic.

Many of the journalists on this particular trip, convened by Jeep to show off its new 2018 Wrangler Rubicon, were not experienced but there’s something about facing off against boulders twice the size of a buffet table. The latter is what automotive journalists are typically used to steering around on press trips.

I was last here in 1992, then as now in a Jeep Wrangler, but a very different one: It was a rectangular-headlight YJ, which replaced the Jeep CJ in the 1987 model year, soldiering on until it was replaced 10 years later with the TJ and a welcome return to round headlights. Also then as now, I drove a six-cylinder Wrangler with an automatic transmission—in 1992 it was the 4.0-liter inline-six with a three-speed automatic; today it’s a 3.6-liter V-6 with an eight-speed automatic.

Actually, given the span of 26-plus years, maybe the new Wrangler isn’t so different. Which is, of course, part of its charm. With the possible exception of a Porsche, the Jeep would likely be the only modern vehicle recognizable to any unfortunate human stranded on a desert island for, say, the last 70 years.

This created a substantial challenge for people like Scott Tallon, director of the Jeep brand, and his designers and engineers. They needed to craft the first new Wrangler in 11 years, somehow keeping its character as the most traditional mainstream vehicle on the road yet bringing it to within the latest safety, comfort, and performance parameters. Especially for the Wrangler Rubicon, the most off-road-capable Jeep model since the marque introduced it in 2003.

Suggestions that would have made it easier to build were largely dismissed: Get rid of the fold-down windshield (they didn’t); get rid of the removable doors (they didn’t). And most of all, get rid of that ancient solid-axle front and rear and bring the Wrangler into the 20th century with all-independent suspension. One engineer suggested they do just that for this new Wrangler, dubbed the JL. “That person doesn’t work at Jeep anymore,” Brian Lees, the Wrangler’s chief engineer, said.

Although we did get from one end of the Rubicon to the other in 1992, this new Jeep makes it a lot easier. The first thing we did was disconnect the sway bars, a task that once required wrenches but now happens at the touch of a button; this gives you considerably more wheel travel. And we could lock the front or rear differentials, or both, again by pressing a button, though we only needed to lock the diffs in the most extreme situations.

Although independent suspensions work best in almost every other application, you can’t beat solid axles for serious off-roading.

The V-6 has plenty of torque—260 lb-ft—but that’s measured at a carlike 4,800 rpm, and the Wrangler is more like a truck. Consequently, even in low range, we’d get a squirt of power when we were only looking for a few drops. Left-foot braking helped solve that issue.

It took us the better part of a day, seldom exceeding 3 mph, to reach the Rubicon Springs campground. We “glamped” in tents set up a few feet from the banks of the Rubicon River. A helicopter visited a couple of times to haul in supplies and haul out trash.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the difference between the two-and four-door models. We did the portion to Rubicon Springs in a two-door, which is 166.8 inches long, 21.6 inches shorter than the four-door. Similarly, the two-door’s wheelbase is just 96.8 inches, 21.6 inches shorter than the four-door. So it should be a lot more nimble, right? Not necessarily. While the turning diameter is 5 inches shorter in the two-door, it wasn’t noticeable. Just as on the highway, we actually preferred the way the four-door handled off-road—more comfortable, more predictable, less jarring.

Which is not to say there weren’t tight spots. Eventually we got used to hearing our Jeep bottom out hard against the skidplates and to feeling the way the steel rock rails, beneath the rocker panels, scuffed against boulders. The massive Dana axles front and rear were a welcome overkill. Yes, there were scratches and scrapes underneath the Jeep afterward, but in the end the only cosmetic damage we spotted during a normal walkaround was the round tailpipe that was, well, no longer round.

Much of this is due to the Rubicon’s generous 10.8-inch ground clearance, about an inch more than the regular Wrangler. Approach angle is an amazing 44 degrees, and departure angle is 37 degrees. The standard Rubicon tire is the BFGoodrich K02 All-Terrain LT285/70R17C, but our Jeep was fitted with the slightly more capable 33-inch BFG KM3. The tires were surprisingly quiet on pavement; in fact, the Jeep Rubicon is pretty quiet, with one major exception: As you rock-crawl, the electric cooling fan comes on with a roar that you just have to get used to.

As usual, the colorfully named sections of the trail that have reputations as being the toughest—Little Sluice, Soup Bowl, and the infamous Cadillac Hill—were so named for a reason. There is, for example, a wrecked 1930s-era Cadillac down there in the woods. Indeed, the Rubicon Trail’s history—even recent history— suggests it is not a place to trifle with. There have been at least three fatalities on the trail since 2012, including one each in 2016 and 2017, which occurred when an unbelted occupant was thrown out as their vehicle rolled over.

The Rubicon Trail’s very existence is somewhat amazing, and that’s not for lack of critics who’ve tried to shut it down despite its history spanning multiple centuries. The Washoe and Maidu-Nisenan tribes traversed the trail long before a military party “discovered” it around 1844. In 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill on the South Fork American River, and invading prospectors used the trail. In the late 1800s, Rubicon Springs, the privately owned campground at about the route’s halfway point, became a source of mineral water craved by the health-conscious, and a prosperous bottling industry was born.

Lodges followed, including a two-and-a-half-story hotel serviced daily by a four-horse carriage. But by the 1920s, tourism died and the Rubicon was used mostly by hunters, fishermen, and loggers.

Then, in 1953, avid off-roader Mark Smith hosted the inaugural jamboree, with 55 Jeeps, most of them military-surplus. The off-road guru remained a central caretaker of the Rubicon Trail and an important face of off-roading in general until he died in 2014 at the age of 87. Smith hosted my first trip along the Rubicon in 1992. His former son-in-law, Jeep Jamboree USA’s Umlauf, continues the tradition. “Mark fought for years the threat of the trail being closed,” Umlauf recalled, countering efforts from environmental groups and even the U.S. Forest Service. That’s one reason Smith and a group of investors bought the land at Rubicon Springs: “He reasoned that they could never close him off from his own property.”

The trail last faced a major crisis thanks to a water-quality board concerned about erosion and pollution, largely from silt. But El Dorado County, with help from groups like Umlauf’s, as well as Friends of the Rubicon and a dozen other entities, stepped up to create a master plan for the trail, which the county saw as a major tourist attraction. It worked. The Rubicon Trail, once darkened by trash, spilled oil, drunks, and even some graffiti, is now downright spotless, and the people you meet along the route seem intent on keeping it that way.

Such as two veteran off-roaders we met during a break in the trip—one driving a Toyota truck, the other an old Jeep Cherokee, both stripped of all but the most essential parts, which apparently did not include doors, windows, or an interior. “We just love off-roading,” one said. “If we come to a fork that’s clear trail one way and a rock the size of a Volkswagen the other way, we’re taking on the rock.”

Mark Smith would be proud.

You Want to Drive the Rubicon?

The Rubicon Trail hosts multiple off-road events each year, but the two best known and most popular are the Jeep Jamboree and the Jeepers Jamboree. Yes, despite their so-similar names, they are two separate events. The Jeep Jamboree is smaller, shorter, and more exclusive, and it encourages families. The Jeepers Jamboree offers more of an “adult atmosphere” and allows non-Jeep vehicles, including Toyota Land Cruisers, Toyota trucks, Suzuki Samurais, International Harvester Scouts, and pre-1979 Ford Broncos. Jeep Jamboree, however, requires that you drive a 1987–2019 Jeep Wrangler, with older Jeeps or non-Wrangler models requiring prior approval.

Prices per person are about $400 to $500 and include different amenities. The Jeepers Jamboree is typically in July; the Jeep Jamboree is in August. You can register online. Make sure you do so early, as there’s usually a waiting list.

jeepersjamboree.com  |  jeepjamboreeusa.com

2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Specifications

PRICE $44,940/$51,220 (base/as tested) ENGINE 3.6L DOHC 24-valve V-6; 285 hp @ 6,400 rpm, 260 lb-ft @ 4,800 rpm TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic LAYOUT 4-door, 5-passenger, front-engine, 4WD SUV EPA MILEAGE 18/23 mpg (city/hwy) L x W x H 188.4 x 73.8 x 73.6 in WHEELBASE 118.4 in WEIGHT 4,145 lb 0–60 MPH 7.4 sec (est) TOP SPEED 100 mph (governed)

from Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4 https://www.automobilemag.com/news/jeep-wrangler-rubicon-rubicon-trail-feature/ via IFTTT

[johnbattlesca]

Martial Arts Enlightenment: Why the Samurai Warriors Practiced Zen, Part 2

Before you dig into this post, would you like to read Part 1? If so, go here now.

Regardless of specifics, from the time of the first Kamakura shogun, Zen Buddhism had found its foothold in ancient Japan, and its impact was imminent. One key point that Winston L. King brought up (see Bibliography) was that Zen monks did not enter into politics to advance in the imperial court. He gave three rather lengthy reasons for this lack of political striving:

Zen, by nature, was anti-institutional; its timing was such that it was not introduced during a warring period; and its monks already held top advisory positions in the shogun’s councils, so there was no need for further political striving. (31)

As stated above, the move to Kamakura put Zen monks in a position of close confidence with the military leaders of the day. Even though this relationship had humble beginnings and was probably mostly secular in nature (record keeping, political advising, etc.), it grew quickly as the employers of those monks realized there was more to be gained from Zen’s religious aspects than just sutra study and recitation.

The warrior class was quick to see the potential for “special spiritual and psychological strength from Zen, which contributed to the strength of character, firmness of will and imperviousness to suffering on which they prided themselves.” (Reischauer 1989, 53)

With similar prized characteristics as a goal of sorts, Zen meditation and martial arts training naturally complemented each other. The spiritual path of Zen was one that the samurai found most appealing. Truth, in the Zen tradition, was to be found within the deepest core of one’s visceral being, not in the intellect. This put the truth well within the range of the samurai’s awareness and emotional compatibility. (King 1993, 163)

Samurai Swordmanship Volume 2: Intermediate Sword Program comes from Masayuki Shimabukuro, Carl E. Long and the staff of Black Belt magazine. Order a copy of the DVD today on Amazon!

Zen offered the samurai what no amount of physical training or knowledge of military strategy could. The purpose of Zen meditation was to open this martial training to the subconscious, instinctive forces of his being that governed action without thought. (King 1993, 166) The techniques of swordsmanship were not inherently flawed, but the factor that was most open to imperfections was the mind of the practitioner. Zen offered what is called mushin, or no-mind.

Taisen Deshimaru likened mushin to “the body thinking.” (1991, 78) In D.T. Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture, it is described thus: “[It is] going beyond the dualism of all forms of life and death, good and evil, being and non-being. … Hereby he becomes a kind of automation, so to speak, as far as his own consciousness is concerned.” (94)

Takuan Soho wrote about mushin in three letters to Yagyu Munenori, head of the Yagyu Shinkage school of swordsmanship. (King 1993, 167) A passage reads as follows:

“Mugaku meant that in wielding the sword, in the infinitesimal time it takes lightning to strike, there is neither mind nor thought. For the striking, there is no mind. For myself, who is about to be struck, there is no mind. The attacker is emptiness. His sword is emptiness. I, who am about to be struck, am emptiness. … Completely forget about the mind and you will do all things well.” (37)

To understand this is to understand the heart of Zen. Some might call this having a satori (realization of a profound truth). Zen, having in its nature a focus on the non-rational mind, is difficult to explain by merely defining theses. The best way to understand Zen thought is by illustration. One of the best illustrations of how one might benefit from Zen training comes from Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture:

“He who deliberates and moves his brush intent on making a picture, misses to a still greater extent the art of painting. Draw bamboo for 10 years, become a bamboo, then forget all about bamboo when you are drawing. In possession of an infallible technique, the individual places himself at the mercy of inspiration.

“To become a bamboo and to forget that you are one with it while drawing it — this is the Zen of the bamboo, this is the moving with the rhythmic movement of the spirit which resides in the bamboo as well as in the artist himself. What is now required of him is to have a firm hold on the spirit and yet not to be conscious of the fact.” (31)

This passage entails the entire essence of Zen and the martial arts. Through zazen, or seated meditation, one comes to know mushin. With the prerequisite of swordsmanship training, the practitioner then must forget that he has this library of knowledge and act instinctually through the fine filter of his “forgotten” techniques. “Forgetting learning, relinquishing mind, harmonizing without any self-conscious knowledge thereof, is the ultimate consummation of the way.” (Munenori 1993, 69)

Those who appreciate the Japanese and Okinawan martial arts will love this online course featuring Black Belt Hall of Famer Fumio Demura. Learn the bo, nunchaku, sai, tonfa, kama and eku bo. Watch a video preview here.

If a cup containing water is knocked over, the water splashes out in random directions without conscious thought. This is similar to the natural instincts one has in a deadly situation. For the water, the cup being knocked over is the threat, and where the water splashes is the reaction.

The addition of martial arts training is likened to having a funnel in hand while the cup is being knocked over. One hopes that with adequate readiness, he will be able to catch the water in the air and direct it in the proper way with the power of the funnel. The addition of the cultivation of mushin is likened to taping the funnel around the mouth of the cup, thus relieving the funnel of the need for conscious thought. The power of the funnel is given the same fluidity and rhythm as the situation itself.

Without thought, the situation arises. Without thought, a reaction takes place. Without thought, the final destination is obtained.

The emphasis on “moving with the rhythmic movement of the spirit” is essential when one raises the following question: How can a philosophy of Buddhist origin can be so closely associated with the military class? The training of Zen meditation, zazen, is said to return the mind to its original state, that of being in harmony with the cosmic order of things.

Speaking of this in terms of God and consciousness, Deshimaru wrote: “It is satori consciousness. The self has dropped away and dissolved. It is the consciousness of God. It is God.” (1991, 66)

For Westerners, this idea might cause problems. Our thought has always been of God as a transcendent figure. But in actuality, this is where Western thought has the most difficulty in religious philosophy: explaining how a transcendent God can be a key figure to humanity. Zen finds “god” right here and now. As Zen masters like to say, “The present moment is pregnant with god.”

In this way, the actions of the samurai go beyond simple right and wrong. They are as bound to common morality as the wind, which may help pollination or spread wildfires.

In the above-mentioned example of the cup of water, it would seem improper to ask, “Was the movement of the funnel good or bad (moral or immoral)?” It was neither good nor bad. It had no real reaction of its own. It only flowed with the movement of the situation. One cannot say that the actions of the cup were distinct from the situation, thereby requiring a moral judgment. Such is the mind of the samurai trained in Zen. A situation is neither moral nor immoral. The samurai, through the cultivation of mushin, acts without intent. Thus, the samurai’s mind is not distinct from the situation and is not subject to moral judgment.

The nature of the samurai becomes the nature of everything. The weapon of the samurai, the katana, becomes transformed along with the person. In the hands of an unworthy warrior, the sword is subject to being an implement of destruction. In the hands of a samurai, the sword becomes subject to the will of heaven. When drawn, it is as the wind which blows with no regard for intent. Yet when the sword is in its scabbard by the side of the samurai, it is most precise in its cut.

Silat for the Street is the title of an online course from Black Belt Hall of Famer Burton Richardson and Black Belt mag. Now you can learn the most functional silat techniques whenever and wherever you want on your smartphone, tablet or computer. Get more info here!

There is a Zen saying that the katana is at one time the “sword of life” and the “sword of death.” The focus of the blade is turned inward on whoever possesses it. It is a symbol by which the samurai is reminded to cut down his own imperfection and attachment to the impermanent world. It thereby gives true life to the one who wears it and death to the people or ideas that stand in the way of the will of heaven. The sword is part of the samurai. The samurai obeys the way. Therefore, the sword of life and the sword of death coexist.

When we think of the Japanese warrior, we must remember the ideals of the Zen tradition if we wish understand the path of this unique historical fixture. As discussed above, the development of Zen in Japan coincided with the development of the samurai. Zen refined the characteristics that made the samurai a distinguished warrior. Zen reached into the depths of the Japanese warrior and created a person of such concentrated awareness, piety and determination that future generations will forever be fascinated and inspired.

Andrew Abele is a freelance writer based in Metairie, Louisiana. He has studied shotokan karate for more than two decades.

Read Part 1 of this post here.

Bibliography

Allyn, John. 1998. The 47 Ronin Story. Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company.

Bodhidharma. (translated by) Pine, Red. 1987. The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma. New York: North Point Press.

Deshimaru, Taisen. 1991. Questions to a Zen Master. New York: Penguin Books.

Deshimaru, Taisen. 1991. The Zen Way to the Martial Arts. New York: Arkana Books.

Deshimaru, Taisen. 1996. Sit: Zen Teachings of Master Taisen Deshimaru. Arizona: Hohm Press.

King, Winston L. 1993. Zen and the Way of the Sword. New York: Oxford University Press.

Munenori, Yagyu. (translated by) Clearly, Thomas. 1993. Family Traditions on the Art of War. Massachusetts: Shambhala.

Musashi, Miyamoto. (translated by) Cleary, Thomas. 1993. The Book of Five Rings. Massachusetts: Shambhala.

Nitobe, Inazo. 1969. Bushido: The Soul of Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company.

Reischauer, Edwin O.; Craig, Albert M. 1989. Japan: Tradition and Transformation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Soho, Takuan. 1986. The Unfettered Mind. Tokyo: Kodansha International.

Suzuki, Daisetz T. 1959. Zen and Japanese Culture. New York: MJF Books.

from Black Belt» Daily » Black Belt http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/martial-arts-history/japanese-matial-arts-history/martial-arts-enlightenment-why-the-samurai-warriors-practiced-zen-part-2/ Martial Arts Enlightenment: Why the Samurai Warriors Practiced Zen, Part 2 published first on http://thrandythefabulous.tumblr.com

[thrandythefabulous]

Martial Arts Enlightenment: Why the Samurai Warriors Practiced Zen, Part 2

Before you dig into this post, would you like to read Part 1? If so, go here now.

Regardless of specifics, from the time of the first Kamakura shogun, Zen Buddhism had found its foothold in ancient Japan, and its impact was imminent. One key point that Winston L. King brought up (see Bibliography) was that Zen monks did not enter into politics to advance in the imperial court. He gave three rather lengthy reasons for this lack of political striving:

Zen, by nature, was anti-institutional; its timing was such that it was not introduced during a warring period; and its monks already held top advisory positions in the shogun’s councils, so there was no need for further political striving. (31)

As stated above, the move to Kamakura put Zen monks in a position of close confidence with the military leaders of the day. Even though this relationship had humble beginnings and was probably mostly secular in nature (record keeping, political advising, etc.), it grew quickly as the employers of those monks realized there was more to be gained from Zen’s religious aspects than just sutra study and recitation.

The warrior class was quick to see the potential for “special spiritual and psychological strength from Zen, which contributed to the strength of character, firmness of will and imperviousness to suffering on which they prided themselves.” (Reischauer 1989, 53)

With similar prized characteristics as a goal of sorts, Zen meditation and martial arts training naturally complemented each other. The spiritual path of Zen was one that the samurai found most appealing. Truth, in the Zen tradition, was to be found within the deepest core of one’s visceral being, not in the intellect. This put the truth well within the range of the samurai’s awareness and emotional compatibility. (King 1993, 163)

Samurai Swordmanship Volume 2: Intermediate Sword Program comes from Masayuki Shimabukuro, Carl E. Long and the staff of Black Belt magazine. Order a copy of the DVD today on Amazon!

Zen offered the samurai what no amount of physical training or knowledge of military strategy could. The purpose of Zen meditation was to open this martial training to the subconscious, instinctive forces of his being that governed action without thought. (King 1993, 166) The techniques of swordsmanship were not inherently flawed, but the factor that was most open to imperfections was the mind of the practitioner. Zen offered what is called mushin, or no-mind.

Taisen Deshimaru likened mushin to “the body thinking.” (1991, 78) In D.T. Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture, it is described thus: “[It is] going beyond the dualism of all forms of life and death, good and evil, being and non-being. … Hereby he becomes a kind of automation, so to speak, as far as his own consciousness is concerned.” (94)

Takuan Soho wrote about mushin in three letters to Yagyu Munenori, head of the Yagyu Shinkage school of swordsmanship. (King 1993, 167) A passage reads as follows:

“Mugaku meant that in wielding the sword, in the infinitesimal time it takes lightning to strike, there is neither mind nor thought. For the striking, there is no mind. For myself, who is about to be struck, there is no mind. The attacker is emptiness. His sword is emptiness. I, who am about to be struck, am emptiness. … Completely forget about the mind and you will do all things well.” (37)

To understand this is to understand the heart of Zen. Some might call this having a satori (realization of a profound truth). Zen, having in its nature a focus on the non-rational mind, is difficult to explain by merely defining theses. The best way to understand Zen thought is by illustration. One of the best illustrations of how one might benefit from Zen training comes from Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture:

“He who deliberates and moves his brush intent on making a picture, misses to a still greater extent the art of painting. Draw bamboo for 10 years, become a bamboo, then forget all about bamboo when you are drawing. In possession of an infallible technique, the individual places himself at the mercy of inspiration.

“To become a bamboo and to forget that you are one with it while drawing it — this is the Zen of the bamboo, this is the moving with the rhythmic movement of the spirit which resides in the bamboo as well as in the artist himself. What is now required of him is to have a firm hold on the spirit and yet not to be conscious of the fact.” (31)

This passage entails the entire essence of Zen and the martial arts. Through zazen, or seated meditation, one comes to know mushin. With the prerequisite of swordsmanship training, the practitioner then must forget that he has this library of knowledge and act instinctually through the fine filter of his “forgotten” techniques. “Forgetting learning, relinquishing mind, harmonizing without any self-conscious knowledge thereof, is the ultimate consummation of the way.” (Munenori 1993, 69)

Those who appreciate the Japanese and Okinawan martial arts will love this online course featuring Black Belt Hall of Famer Fumio Demura. Learn the bo, nunchaku, sai, tonfa, kama and eku bo. Watch a video preview here.

If a cup containing water is knocked over, the water splashes out in random directions without conscious thought. This is similar to the natural instincts one has in a deadly situation. For the water, the cup being knocked over is the threat, and where the water splashes is the reaction.

The addition of martial arts training is likened to having a funnel in hand while the cup is being knocked over. One hopes that with adequate readiness, he will be able to catch the water in the air and direct it in the proper way with the power of the funnel. The addition of the cultivation of mushin is likened to taping the funnel around the mouth of the cup, thus relieving the funnel of the need for conscious thought. The power of the funnel is given the same fluidity and rhythm as the situation itself.

Without thought, the situation arises. Without thought, a reaction takes place. Without thought, the final destination is obtained.

The emphasis on “moving with the rhythmic movement of the spirit” is essential when one raises the following question: How can a philosophy of Buddhist origin can be so closely associated with the military class? The training of Zen meditation, zazen, is said to return the mind to its original state, that of being in harmony with the cosmic order of things.

Speaking of this in terms of God and consciousness, Deshimaru wrote: “It is satori consciousness. The self has dropped away and dissolved. It is the consciousness of God. It is God.” (1991, 66)

For Westerners, this idea might cause problems. Our thought has always been of God as a transcendent figure. But in actuality, this is where Western thought has the most difficulty in religious philosophy: explaining how a transcendent God can be a key figure to humanity. Zen finds “god” right here and now. As Zen masters like to say, “The present moment is pregnant with god.”

In this way, the actions of the samurai go beyond simple right and wrong. They are as bound to common morality as the wind, which may help pollination or spread wildfires.

In the above-mentioned example of the cup of water, it would seem improper to ask, “Was the movement of the funnel good or bad (moral or immoral)?” It was neither good nor bad. It had no real reaction of its own. It only flowed with the movement of the situation. One cannot say that the actions of the cup were distinct from the situation, thereby requiring a moral judgment. Such is the mind of the samurai trained in Zen. A situation is neither moral nor immoral. The samurai, through the cultivation of mushin, acts without intent. Thus, the samurai’s mind is not distinct from the situation and is not subject to moral judgment.

The nature of the samurai becomes the nature of everything. The weapon of the samurai, the katana, becomes transformed along with the person. In the hands of an unworthy warrior, the sword is subject to being an implement of destruction. In the hands of a samurai, the sword becomes subject to the will of heaven. When drawn, it is as the wind which blows with no regard for intent. Yet when the sword is in its scabbard by the side of the samurai, it is most precise in its cut.

Silat for the Street is the title of an online course from Black Belt Hall of Famer Burton Richardson and Black Belt mag. Now you can learn the most functional silat techniques whenever and wherever you want on your smartphone, tablet or computer. Get more info here!

There is a Zen saying that the katana is at one time the “sword of life” and the “sword of death.” The focus of the blade is turned inward on whoever possesses it. It is a symbol by which the samurai is reminded to cut down his own imperfection and attachment to the impermanent world. It thereby gives true life to the one who wears it and death to the people or ideas that stand in the way of the will of heaven. The sword is part of the samurai. The samurai obeys the way. Therefore, the sword of life and the sword of death coexist.

When we think of the Japanese warrior, we must remember the ideals of the Zen tradition if we wish understand the path of this unique historical fixture. As discussed above, the development of Zen in Japan coincided with the development of the samurai. Zen refined the characteristics that made the samurai a distinguished warrior. Zen reached into the depths of the Japanese warrior and created a person of such concentrated awareness, piety and determination that future generations will forever be fascinated and inspired.

Andrew Abele is a freelance writer based in Metairie, Louisiana. He has studied shotokan karate for more than two decades.

Read Part 1 of this post here.

Bibliography

Allyn, John. 1998. The 47 Ronin Story. Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company.

Bodhidharma. (translated by) Pine, Red. 1987. The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma. New York: North Point Press.

Deshimaru, Taisen. 1991. Questions to a Zen Master. New York: Penguin Books.

Deshimaru, Taisen. 1991. The Zen Way to the Martial Arts. New York: Arkana Books.

Deshimaru, Taisen. 1996. Sit: Zen Teachings of Master Taisen Deshimaru. Arizona: Hohm Press.

King, Winston L. 1993. Zen and the Way of the Sword. New York: Oxford University Press.

Munenori, Yagyu. (translated by) Clearly, Thomas. 1993. Family Traditions on the Art of War. Massachusetts: Shambhala.

Musashi, Miyamoto. (translated by) Cleary, Thomas. 1993. The Book of Five Rings. Massachusetts: Shambhala.

Nitobe, Inazo. 1969. Bushido: The Soul of Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company.

Reischauer, Edwin O.; Craig, Albert M. 1989. Japan: Tradition and Transformation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Soho, Takuan. 1986. The Unfettered Mind. Tokyo: Kodansha International.

Suzuki, Daisetz T. 1959. Zen and Japanese Culture. New York: MJF Books.

from Black Belt» Daily » Black Belt http://www.blackbeltmag.com/daily/martial-arts-history/japanese-matial-arts-history/martial-arts-enlightenment-why-the-samurai-warriors-practiced-zen-part-2/

[michaelchinworcester]

Martial Arts Enlightenment: Why the Samurai Warriors Practiced Zen, Part 2

Before you dig into this post, would you like to read Part 1? If so, go here now.

Regardless of specifics, from the time of the first Kamakura shogun, Zen Buddhism had found its foothold in ancient Japan, and its impact was imminent. One key point that Winston L. King brought up (see Bibliography) was that Zen monks did not enter into politics to advance in the imperial court. He gave three rather lengthy reasons for this lack of political striving:

Zen, by nature, was anti-institutional; its timing was such that it was not introduced during a warring period; and its monks already held top advisory positions in the shogun’s councils, so there was no need for further political striving. (31)

As stated above, the move to Kamakura put Zen monks in a position of close confidence with the military leaders of the day. Even though this relationship had humble beginnings and was probably mostly secular in nature (record keeping, political advising, etc.), it grew quickly as the employers of those monks realized there was more to be gained from Zen’s religious aspects than just sutra study and recitation.

The warrior class was quick to see the potential for “special spiritual and psychological strength from Zen, which contributed to the strength of character, firmness of will and imperviousness to suffering on which they prided themselves.” (Reischauer 1989, 53)

With similar prized characteristics as a goal of sorts, Zen meditation and martial arts training naturally complemented each other. The spiritual path of Zen was one that the samurai found most appealing. Truth, in the Zen tradition, was to be found within the deepest core of one’s visceral being, not in the intellect. This put the truth well within the range of the samurai’s awareness and emotional compatibility. (King 1993, 163)

Samurai Swordmanship Volume 2: Intermediate Sword Program comes from Masayuki Shimabukuro, Carl E. Long and the staff of Black Belt magazine. Order a copy of the DVD today on Amazon!

Zen offered the samurai what no amount of physical training or knowledge of military strategy could. The purpose of Zen meditation was to open this martial training to the subconscious, instinctive forces of his being that governed action without thought. (King 1993, 166) The techniques of swordsmanship were not inherently flawed, but the factor that was most open to imperfections was the mind of the practitioner. Zen offered what is called mushin, or no-mind.

Taisen Deshimaru likened mushin to “the body thinking.” (1991, 78) In D.T. Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture, it is described thus: “[It is] going beyond the dualism of all forms of life and death, good and evil, being and non-being. … Hereby he becomes a kind of automation, so to speak, as far as his own consciousness is concerned.” (94)

Takuan Soho wrote about mushin in three letters to Yagyu Munenori, head of the Yagyu Shinkage school of swordsmanship. (King 1993, 167) A passage reads as follows:

“Mugaku meant that in wielding the sword, in the infinitesimal time it takes lightning to strike, there is neither mind nor thought. For the striking, there is no mind. For myself, who is about to be struck, there is no mind. The attacker is emptiness. His sword is emptiness. I, who am about to be struck, am emptiness. … Completely forget about the mind and you will do all things well.” (37)

To understand this is to understand the heart of Zen. Some might call this having a satori (realization of a profound truth). Zen, having in its nature a focus on the non-rational mind, is difficult to explain by merely defining theses. The best way to understand Zen thought is by illustration. One of the best illustrations of how one might benefit from Zen training comes from Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture:

“He who deliberates and moves his brush intent on making a picture, misses to a still greater extent the art of painting. Draw bamboo for 10 years, become a bamboo, then forget all about bamboo when you are drawing. In possession of an infallible technique, the individual places himself at the mercy of inspiration.

“To become a bamboo and to forget that you are one with it while drawing it — this is the Zen of the bamboo, this is the moving with the rhythmic movement of the spirit which resides in the bamboo as well as in the artist himself. What is now required of him is to have a firm hold on the spirit and yet not to be conscious of the fact.” (31)

This passage entails the entire essence of Zen and the martial arts. Through zazen, or seated meditation, one comes to know mushin. With the prerequisite of swordsmanship training, the practitioner then must forget that he has this library of knowledge and act instinctually through the fine filter of his “forgotten” techniques. “Forgetting learning, relinquishing mind, harmonizing without any self-conscious knowledge thereof, is the ultimate consummation of the way.” (Munenori 1993, 69)

Those who appreciate the Japanese and Okinawan martial arts will love this online course featuring Black Belt Hall of Famer Fumio Demura. Learn the bo, nunchaku, sai, tonfa, kama and eku bo. Watch a video preview here.

If a cup containing water is knocked over, the water splashes out in random directions without conscious thought. This is similar to the natural instincts one has in a deadly situation. For the water, the cup being knocked over is the threat, and where the water splashes is the reaction.

The addition of martial arts training is likened to having a funnel in hand while the cup is being knocked over. One hopes that with adequate readiness, he will be able to catch the water in the air and direct it in the proper way with the power of the funnel. The addition of the cultivation of mushin is likened to taping the funnel around the mouth of the cup, thus relieving the funnel of the need for conscious thought. The power of the funnel is given the same fluidity and rhythm as the situation itself.

Without thought, the situation arises. Without thought, a reaction takes place. Without thought, the final destination is obtained.

The emphasis on “moving with the rhythmic movement of the spirit” is essential when one raises the following question: How can a philosophy of Buddhist origin can be so closely associated with the military class? The training of Zen meditation, zazen, is said to return the mind to its original state, that of being in harmony with the cosmic order of things.

Speaking of this in terms of God and consciousness, Deshimaru wrote: “It is satori consciousness. The self has dropped away and dissolved. It is the consciousness of God. It is God.” (1991, 66)

For Westerners, this idea might cause problems. Our thought has always been of God as a transcendent figure. But in actuality, this is where Western thought has the most difficulty in religious philosophy: explaining how a transcendent God can be a key figure to humanity. Zen finds “god” right here and now. As Zen masters like to say, “The present moment is pregnant with god.”

In this way, the actions of the samurai go beyond simple right and wrong. They are as bound to common morality as the wind, which may help pollination or spread wildfires.

In the above-mentioned example of the cup of water, it would seem improper to ask, “Was the movement of the funnel good or bad (moral or immoral)?” It was neither good nor bad. It had no real reaction of its own. It only flowed with the movement of the situation. One cannot say that the actions of the cup were distinct from the situation, thereby requiring a moral judgment. Such is the mind of the samurai trained in Zen. A situation is neither moral nor immoral. The samurai, through the cultivation of mushin, acts without intent. Thus, the samurai’s mind is not distinct from the situation and is not subject to moral judgment.

The nature of the samurai becomes the nature of everything. The weapon of the samurai, the katana, becomes transformed along with the person. In the hands of an unworthy warrior, the sword is subject to being an implement of destruction. In the hands of a samurai, the sword becomes subject to the will of heaven. When drawn, it is as the wind which blows with no regard for intent. Yet when the sword is in its scabbard by the side of the samurai, it is most precise in its cut.

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There is a Zen saying that the katana is at one time the “sword of life” and the “sword of death.” The focus of the blade is turned inward on whoever possesses it. It is a symbol by which the samurai is reminded to cut down his own imperfection and attachment to the impermanent world. It thereby gives true life to the one who wears it and death to the people or ideas that stand in the way of the will of heaven. The sword is part of the samurai. The samurai obeys the way. Therefore, the sword of life and the sword of death coexist.

When we think of the Japanese warrior, we must remember the ideals of the Zen tradition if we wish understand the path of this unique historical fixture. As discussed above, the development of Zen in Japan coincided with the development of the samurai. Zen refined the characteristics that made the samurai a distinguished warrior. Zen reached into the depths of the Japanese warrior and created a person of such concentrated awareness, piety and determination that future generations will forever be fascinated and inspired.

Andrew Abele is a freelance writer based in Metairie, Louisiana. He has studied shotokan karate for more than two decades.

Read Part 1 of this post here.

Bibliography

Allyn, John. 1998. The 47 Ronin Story. Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company.

Bodhidharma. (translated by) Pine, Red. 1987. The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma. New York: North Point Press.

Deshimaru, Taisen. 1991. Questions to a Zen Master. New York: Penguin Books.

Deshimaru, Taisen. 1991. The Zen Way to the Martial Arts. New York: Arkana Books.

Deshimaru, Taisen. 1996. Sit: Zen Teachings of Master Taisen Deshimaru. Arizona: Hohm Press.

King, Winston L. 1993. Zen and the Way of the Sword. New York: Oxford University Press.

Munenori, Yagyu. (translated by) Clearly, Thomas. 1993. Family Traditions on the Art of War. Massachusetts: Shambhala.

Musashi, Miyamoto. (translated by) Cleary, Thomas. 1993. The Book of Five Rings. Massachusetts: Shambhala.

Nitobe, Inazo. 1969. Bushido: The Soul of Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company.

Reischauer, Edwin O.; Craig, Albert M. 1989. Japan: Tradition and Transformation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Soho, Takuan. 1986. The Unfettered Mind. Tokyo: Kodansha International.

Suzuki, Daisetz T. 1959. Zen and Japanese Culture. New York: MJF Books.

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