Strived

There's no Buddha, we say. We say that because there is no natural Buddha. Buddha is someone who strived—strived faithfully through difficulties.                   --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Breakthrough

When we find real joy of life in pain and in difficulty, that is true joy, according to Buddhism. We say there is no natural Buddha. Buddha is someone who attained enlightenment with a human body, who has a\breakthrough the human life, and who found eternal joy in human life—in immortal life.                  --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Tom Silk

Longtime SFZC and personal friend Tom Silk passed away peacefully on the morning of January 25th. His wife Kathleen and daughter Nicole were with him. Kathleen wrote, "Tom passed away yesterday morning.  His health had been deteriorating for quite some time, and the last downward slide was mercifully short.  Until the end he was fully conscious, upbeat, humorous, planning changes to his garden, and speculating about the newest 2020 election revelations until almost the last minute.

He died at home, with characteristic grit and serenity, attended by his daughter Nicole and me. As much as he influenced the development of your organizations, he was in turn influenced by them himself and those influences stood him in good stead personally for the rest of his life."

***

How sad to hear Tom has left us here to be without him. What a great and wonderful person he was. I'm deeply indebted to Tom for his support and advice through the years - and a lot of fun. I was just thinking of him and a song we recently recorded that I wanted him to hear. I will think of him a lot for a while now and I'll send him messages with my heart. I'm glad we've had the talks we've had in recent times, the last one just a couple of months ago. - DC

Please share any thoughts, anecdotes, memories, or, photos of Tom that you are inclined to share here on the Kudoboard.  

Causality

So, characteristic of Buddhist understanding of causality is: one way is mechanical, and we do not ignore freedom. On the other hand, it is teleological, and we do not believe in any perfection. But people believe in perfection, this is a mistake. So, we should be free from those three mistakes: to have idea of perfection as a human bein and to be bound by causality, or to ignore the theory of cause and effect. These three points, at least as far as I know, should be understand to understand causality in its true sense.                 --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

RIP Thomas Silk

Tom Silk, SF Zen Center's long time tax attorney and good friend and close friend to many of us, has just passed away peacefully at home in Marin County. More on Tom tomorrow. He was a good, kind, generous, brilliant man. Especially important in my life. Thanks for everything Tom! I'll miss you. Gyate Gyate...

Succession

You will find out Buddhist understanding of causality is both materialistic and spiritualistic. And it is endless effort—succession of effort. There is no end, or there is no beginning. There is no beginning and no end; it’s our understanding of life.                --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Film on Thich Nhat Hanh streaming for Free for a brief time

Thanks to the Buddhist Film Foundation for streaming Peace is Every Step for free for a short time in honor of Thich Nhat Hsnh. 

Here's their page for Thich Nat Hanh with another link to the film.

On and On

Here, people have some misunderstanding. They think we human beings can attain some goal. But for the human being, and for all the rest of the existence there is no limit in achieving things. Things will go on and on and on. We don't know when it will end.               --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

A Page in a Book

In her podcast, Liz Horowitz tells about how a single story in a book turned her on to Zen.

The book is called Zen Buddhism: an introduction to Zen with stories, parables, and koan riddles told by the Zen Masters - with cuts from old Chinese Ink Paintings. It was published in 1959 by the Peter Pauper Press, Mt. Verson, New York with no other information so the Peter Pauper Press gets the author credit.  

Here's the book cover, the title page, and the brief story that turned her on all in one PDF. 

Plan

 

So, if your plan is right, to have some goal in your life means to follow the dynamic change of the world. In this way, our life will go on and on and on endlessly. This is right understanding.              --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Liz Horowitz

A podcast with Elizabeth Horowitz went up over the weekend. Love this photo of her long ago. Just made a cuke page for her with a couple of other photos. Will be adding more I hope, especially from her podcast.

Teleological - look it up if you have to (like me)

Seeing time as discontinuity will result in a mechanistic understanding. And idea of time as continuity will result in a teleological way of understanding of life - some purpose, some goal, and you have some way to attain that goal. It is actually a dynamic change of life. When we follow that dynamic change of every being, our goal will be attained.  But if we ignore that dynamic change of the universe, even though we have some plan in mind, it will not work.             --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

RIP Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Lion's Roar memorial article on Thich Nhat Hanh

We were most fortunate to have this great teacher come to Green Gulch Farm and stay there on a few occasions. Thanks Richard Baker for making that happen. Thank you Thich Nhat Hanh for your gift to us all. - dc

No Point

But, actually, time is going and going on and on, so there is no point to point at. It is going on. The only way you have is to follow that clock or follow the sunshine, that is the only way we form the idea of time. So, when you have an idea of time it means you have an idea of time of continuity and discontinuity.               --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Straight Line

When you say “eight o'clock,” time stops, tentatively. But actually, it is going on—we have to know that actually time is going on and on, but we have to say, tentatively, “it is nine o'clock” or “seven o'clock.” From this understanding, time is some point on the straight line from past to future.              --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Time

Originally, our contradiction understanding is based on the nature of time, or idea of time. Time is, as I always say, continuous and discontinuous. Time is not always continuous. Time is discontinuous. You know, when you say, even, you know, time stops, you know. If it is going, you cannot say, "this is six o’clock or eight o’clock." When you say eight o'clock, it is eight o'clock; it is not a future nine o'clock. It is eight o'clock.              --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Contradictory

If you understand our life, our life should be on one hand absolutely free from past and future, from everyone. At the same time, we have to have some purpose, some goal to achieve. How this contradictory way of thinking goes together is our philosophy.             --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Zen Quarantine

 I had a nice long talk with Nicole Baden yesterday. She's a dharma heir of Richard Baker who is in charge of the Dharma Sangha Johanneshof retreat in the Black Forrest of Germany. She just arrived at Dharma Sangha's American heart, Crestone Mt. Zen Center. Before engaging with the community, she has to quarantine for a week in a cabin there. When her week is up she can join in without masking or worrying about social distancing. Edward Brown and Margot Koch live with a community in Filo that had the same practice except it was two weeks. I want to find out what the SFZC does at its centers. They couldn't do that at the City Center I wouldn't imagine and it would seem to be hard at Green Gulch too, but at Tassajara when there are no guests, it seems that could be worked out quite easily. Let's see what they do. I'll get back with a report. - DC

More Tassajara Paintings

From Lucille Harris - with a better shot of the one with Shunryu Suzuki walking over the bridge to the zendo with jisha Mel Weitsman, and anja Alan Marlowe. But here's one from an online auction - Autumnscape and Rain.

If you remember Lucille, please send me something about her to put on her page. Thanks. DC - dchad at cuke dot com

Upside Down

Those who believe in teleological understanding of life, or determinism, they sacrifice this present for the future. This is opposite, you know. Actually, what we should have is happiness in this moment. To sacrifice this moment for the sake of future is upside-down way.            --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Philosophy

But actually, if you understand our life, we—our life should be—in one hand, our life should be absolutely free from past and future, from everyone. At the same time, we have to have some purpose, some goal to achieve. How this contradictory way of thinking go together is our philosophy.            --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Freedom

In Buddhism, we do not ignore freedom. At least, at a certain moment, we have freedom. But in the next moment, we have to change our way, literally. And the next time we have to change more. In this way, everything will—our life, will go and go on—go. This is Buddhist understanding of our life.            --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Time 2

 If we have continuity of time, we are not free. That time is continuous means the change of things—change of forms and colors in certain way. So, everything—if everything is changing, in certain way, each existence has no freedom. Each one of them should change into something else, whether they like it or not [laughs]. It is impossible—impossible to remain obtaining some certain character always. That is impossible.           --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

DC Comment: Suzuki says that time is both continuous and discontinuous and warns against sticking to either side but to me he seems to also warn against having any idea about time..

A Lovely Work of Art

Liz Horowitz wrote: "Lucille Harris painted this wonderful picture at Tassajara in the summer of 1970 and gave it to Mel.  It shows Suzuki Roshi, Mel Weitsman, and Alan Marlowe." 

They're on the way to the Zendo crossing the bridge over the small creek. Mel was jisha, personal attendant, and Alan was anja, room cleaner. She included the little statue at the entrance to the bridge.

  

Lucllle Harris cuke page

Time

According to a mechanical understanding of life, the idea of time is discontinuity. And determinism is based on idea of continuity. In the idea of time as discontinuity—many things exist—things exist as one of many.  Here we have no idea of time.            --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

DC Comment: Hard to figure out if his "Here we have no idea of time" is about we Buddhists or not. But I know he says that time is both continuous and discontinuous and warns against sticking to either side so that leaves both or neither, i.e. no idea.

Mechanical

So, those who believe in a mechanistic approach, their way of life is very primitive and very literalistic in its ordinary sense, a very naïve understanding of our life. So, they want vast freedom. They have no time to consider to others’ liberty. They just insist on their own liberty. This kind of attitude of life is based on mechanical way of understanding life.             --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

SFZC Awakening the Archive

SFZC dot org - Good presentation of some of the new audio found at the SFZC City Center. Links to transcript and more. These are also linked to from the Shunryu Suzuki lecture archive at shunryusuzuki.com.

Where's he gonna go from here?

We see two viewpoints of life. One is just a mechanical way of understanding existence. Another is like determinism, to believe in some result. Nowadays, people apply those two view of life, but without any clear understanding of it, so sometime they believe in determinism; sometimes they believe in liberation which is quite mechanical.              --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Two Hands in Gassho

 

Narcissus Quagliata's first stained glass pieces: the hands of Dainin Katagiri on the left and Shunryu Suzuki on the right, mounted on the swinging doors between the kitchen and dining room at the SFZC City Center. Note Katagiri's perfect form and Suzuki's more relaxed style with the fourth finger he'd damaged while working on a rock wall at his temple before coming to America. 

Narcissus Quagliata cuke page

photo by Paula Pietranera who practices at the SFZC and is documenting art there.

 

thanks Liz Horowitz

Causality

The topic is about causality. We believe in causality, but our way of believing in cause and effect—theory of cause and effect—is not the same as ordinary people believe in it.                  --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 66-08-17N - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

DC  Comment: This is unfortunate wording. It's not really what he means. He does not mean to imply some special group is superior to "ordinary" people - like Buddhists, Zen Buddhists, Soto Zen Buddhists, enlightened people. To me, what he means is that "a true understanding of cause and effect is different from the ordinary understanding." Comes across quite different huh? And this isn't the only time he fell into this sort of usage. See some of Stuart Lach's comments here. I have no problem with anything Stuart says there but my interpretation of what Suzuki was saying is totally different.

Ken Campbell

Today's Cuke Podcast is with guest Ken Campbell who practiced with us in the Shunryu Suzuki days and later with Chogyam Trungpa. He now lives in Boulder.

Here are some memories he sent of Shunryu Suzuki.

Ken's Cuke page

Shunryu Suzuki on Pure Rules

 This is a post on the SFZC Sangha News about one of the Shunryu Suzuki tapes that were discovered recently. This one was listed in our archive but we had no transcript or audio. This is an unusual one.

It is 65-07-28-AN on shunryusuzuki.com 

Reading the Fukanzazengi

 Additional information on Fukanzazengi quoted in 67-12-04-A

First paragraph of Fukanzazengi. [reading Reiho Masunaga’s translation which is in italics. Masunaga translation words that Suzuki changed or left out are in parentheses. Words Suzuki added are in brackets].

***

The true way is universal, so why are training and enlightenment [different] (differentiated)? The supreme teaching is [everywhere] (free), so why study the means to it? Even truth as a whole, is clearly apart from the dust. Why adhere (to) the means of wiping away? The truth is not apart from here, so the [measure] (means) of training are useless. But if there is even the slightest gap between, the separation is as heaven and earth. If the opposites arise, [dualistic mind arise], you lose the Buddha mind. Even though, you are proud of your understanding and have enough enlightenment, even though you gain some wisdom and supernatural power and find the way to illuminate your mind, even though you have power to touch the heavens, and even though you enter into the area of enlightenment, you have almost lost the living way to salvation. Look at the Buddha. Though born with great wisdom, he had to sit for six years. Look at Budhidharma who transmitted the Buddha mind. We can still hear the echoes of his nine-year wall gazing [practice]. The old sages [are] (were) very diligent. There is no reason why modern man cannot understand [this]. [You should] (Just) quit following words and letters. [You should] (Just) withdraw and reflect on yourself. [Withdraw means to change the direction of effort. Not outward but inward. You should] (Just) [with… ]withdraw and reflect on yourself. If you can cast off body and mind naturally, the Buddha Mind emerges [… emerges]. If you wish to gain quickly, you must start quickly.

And he explains carefully how to sit.

Unthinkable Thinking Conclusion

If the earth says, I don't want the sun [laughs], what will happen to it? There is no other way. Because of this unthinkable thinking we exist, we can think, we can live. Without this unthinkable we cannot think. It's changing into delusion. If you insist on avoiding it, it means you are involved in dark deep delusion.                  --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 67-12-04-A - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

Some 2021 Additions to Shunryu Suzuki Lecture Archive

 A bunch of work has been going on with Shunryu Suzuki lectures, the audio work by Engage Wisdom EW), and transcribing by EW's Shundo David Haye and at Cuke Archives, especially from Peter Ford and Wendy Pirsig. Here is a page for new and improved transcripts from last year that covers the major work that but not all the minor work reflected in the Cuke Archives caverns. It will keep coming.   

Vanish

If you forget all about the practice, you lose your life. Whatever you do, it doesn't work. You will insist it works. You lose yourself. You are no more. You vanished [laughs] world.                  --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 67-12-04-A - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

A Memory of Tassajara

 And mainly of walking in - the long way. 

On the Way to Tassajara - by Summer Brenner. Suggested by David Schneider

Link to that PDF posted in cuke on the Tassajara Stories page

SFZC classes on recently discovered Shunryu Suzuki lecture tapes

 

Awakening the Archive: The Lost Talks of Suzuki Roshi (class), Online 1/8 - 1/29

Not Neglect

"This is the important aspect of cross-legged sitting." [Thinking beyond thinking and unthinking] We sit in this way. This is how different it our practice is. That is why we should practice zazen. And you should not neglect our zazen because you think something else is more important. Why something is important for you is because of this practice.                 --------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki  lecture - 67-12-04-A - as found on shunryusuzuki.com, from one of the newly discovered (2021) lecture tapes. Edited by DC  - Going through Suzuki lectures and posting anything that can stand on its own. Not looking for zingers or "the best of." I find that following these excerpts daily provides another way to experience Suzuki's teaching. Go to https://www.instagram.com/cuke_archives/ for more daily Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts - with a photo.

New Year's Day

And so in January-- of course, New Year's Day, we renew all the decorations, so old ones we carry old ones to the shrine, which is always waiting for those things. Old, old small shrines, or stone deity called dosojin. Most of the days we do not know even there is dosojin. But on New Year's Day, or from New Year's Day to January 14th, old symbols and ornaments will be there. People, you know, take them to the old shrines. So at that time, we realize that, “Oh, here is shrine.” On January 14th we make pretty big shrine, maybe six feet high, with straw. And when it is dark, we set fire on it and burn it. And people-- children come with rice, rice balls. Rice ball is made on New Year's Day and we put it on the branches of the tree and we decorate it in front of altar. -- Shunryu Suzuki lecture 71-07-29. See shunryusuzuki.com. 

DC comment: There's all sorts of old stuff burned in that bonfire including a record of bad deeds.