There was an artist in the city of Kouroo who was disposed to strive after perfection. One day it came into his mind to make a staff. Having considered that in an imperfect work time is an ingredient, but into a perfect work time does not enter, he said to himself, It shall be perfect in all respects, though I should do nothing else in my life. He proceeded instantly to the forest for wood, being resolved that it should not be made of unsuitable material; and as he searched for and rejected stick after stick, his friends gradually deserted him, for they grew old in their works and died, but he grew not older by a moment. His singleness of purpose and resolution, and his elevated piety, endowed him, without his knowledge, with perennial youth. As he made no compromise with Time, Time kept out of his way, and only sighed at a distance because he could not overcome him. Before he had found a stock in all respects suitable the city of Kouroo was a hoary ruin, and he sat on one of its mounds to peel the stick. Before he had given it the proper shape the dynasty of the Candahars was at an end, and with the point of the stick he wrote the name of the last of that race in the sand, and then resumed his work. By the time he had smoothed and polished the staff Kalpa was no longer the pole-star; and ere he had put on the ferule and the head adorned with precious stones, Brahma had awoke and slumbered many times. But why do I stay to mention these things? When the finishing stroke was put to his work, it suddenly expanded before the eyes of the astonished artist into the fairest of all the creations of Brahma. He had made a new system in making a staff, a world with full and fair proportions; in which, though the old cities and dynasties had passed away, fairer and more glorious ones had taken their places. And now he saw by the heap of shavings still fresh at his feet, that, for him and his work, the former lapse of time had been an illusion, and that no more time had elapsed than is required for a single scintillation from the brain of Brahma to fall on and inflame the tinder of a mortal brain. The material was pure, and his art was pure; how could the result be other than wonderful?
安可先生和曹洞宗曾經有這麼一段淵源：
根據吳晴月所持有禪門曹洞宗的「生死簿」的推算，王安可的陽壽只有四
十八年又三個月。若是活過這個年又不離開他的家，就會對家人有損。不
過安可先生確實活了幾年卻沒人知道，因為他在六十幾時還在台東太麻里
山上洗溫泉。
每一世所累積起來的善惡業，到目前這一世將會有什麼樣的業報出現，其
中預言了個人的生、老、病、死、劫，但是不提供任何意見，只告訴你有
什麼籌碼，藉由這些去掌握自己的一生。
吳晴月並告訴安可先生，一味空想要過多好的生活，或是整天羨慕別人的
財富和幸福，都是無益的。不承認自己這世的「實相」，會讓自己終日不
快樂，陷入痛苦的情緒中。只有了解業因並修正自己的內心，才能排解疑
難，過較正確的生活。人生的根本問題是沒有答案的，它無可限制，端看
你怎麼創造，因為人生就是一連串無常的活動，這才是「真相」。
據說，生死簿共二十本，成書於後唐，大約西元1230年東渡日本，1895年由曹洞宗四十八代開教使雪凝和尚帶來台灣佈教。雪凝和尚在中日戰後遭遣返日本，留下此套書籍交給同門師弟普信，也就是吳晴月的師父。然而「真相」是，安可先生根本沒見過吳晴月，一切都是他自己心中的想像。真相與實相也許可以用「真話」和「實話」來類比。真話是心裡的話，實話則不一定。但是真話的內容卻可能不是實情，而是因人的虛妄之心所造成的「假相」。但這種「假相」不能說不存在。『從因果施設邊說，即空的假名有，不可說無』，也就是說在這種情況下個人周遭的人、事、物，雖然是空的、假的，卻是存在的，不可說它們都是幻覺。『從自性不可得邊說，即假的自性空，不可說有』。這是相對於前面來說的。如果沒有前面的空的假名，就沒有所謂的假的自性，所以自性也是假、也是空。從這個觀點才可以說一切是不存在的。所以佛才說：『一切有為法，如夢、幻、泡、影，如露亦如電，應作如是觀』。這就是所謂的「實相」。實相是批判之依據，若無此為據，焉知世間之苦是何所指耶？說的白話一點，人要跳出自己的意想範圍之外，才能對此世間有所評斷。至於這個世界的「真相」佛陀似乎從來沒有提過，因為他認為瞭解它對於人的解脫並沒有幫助。這個世界在佛陀的心裡到底是怎樣的，也就成為佛學的一個重要課題。
愛因斯坦的相對論卻向我們透露了一點這個世界的「真相」。牛頓的運動定律基本上是假設時間的脈動頻率對每一個運動中物體都是一樣的。也唯有如此，他的運動定律才能成立。而這個假設對人類來說是完全合乎先驗的，沒有人曾經懷疑這個假設的真實性。但是後來發現，時間的推移是因運動而定。然而牛頓在發現他的運動定律之時，並不知道每個物體的時間都是不同的，所以他的定律和人心所產生的各種有為法一樣，都是夢幻泡影。然而，將時間的脈動施設為一致是有必要的，因為一切因果必須由此開始。羅素說：『如果我們處在一個不斷變動（無常）的世界中（事實上我們也是，只是沒人感覺到，釋迦牟尼是第一人），可能打從頭就推算出相對論，要不然就是糊里糊塗，永遠不知科學定理為何物。因為一步就跳到相對論的人必須一手包辦歐幾里德、伽利略、牛頓及愛因斯坦的科學成就，這種天才既不可能存在，我們只得選擇後者。』釋迦牟尼就是這樣的天才！牛頓的定律雖不契合真理，但是若沒有假的定律，如何去解釋這個零中之零，空中之空。
王中之王是誰？聖中之聖是誰？
何謂愚人？何謂智者？
如何離開垢穢？怎樣獲證涅槃？
何人沉溺在生死海裡？誰能逍遙於解脫國中？
正如庫魯城那個做手杖的藝術家所經歷的一樣，打坐的奇妙之處在於，不論你用功了多久，在你結束打坐時，你會覺得用掉的時間都差不多，所逝去的時間只是一種幻象。若是你搭上了一部以光速移動的自動扶梯，無論你在上面是站著不動或往上走，到達頂端的時間都是一樣。這與人們在俗世中急急忙忙死命地去追求成功，死命地去投身於某某企業的景況豈不相同？在生死輪迴中流轉就如搭上以光速移動的手扶梯，不論你跑多快，結果都是一樣。打坐的情形卻正好與之相反，時間不管怎麼走，你還是坐在那裡。這是很耐人尋味的事。由於專心一志，不跟時間妥協，時間只好站到一邊去，遠遠的嘆息。日本曹洞宗之父道元說：「即令是初學者的坐禪，也都是他們全部自性的顯現。」
《註》：
曹洞宗源自唐朝禪宗青原一系，青原指的便是行思(? ─ 公元740年)，為慧能會下的上首。得法後回到吉州，住青原山靜居寺。
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