Story: The King and the Woodcutter
Once upon a time, a king went hunting. While hunting, he wandered far away from residential area and deep into the forest. It was the summer season. The king felt extremely thirsty. Leaving his hunt aside, he began searching for water, but could not find any anywhere. The king thought that if he did not find water, he would die of thirst. Gathering a bit more courage, he continued searching for water here and there.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of wood being chopped in the forest. The king thought that the person chopping wood must certainly have water. So, he headed in the direction of the sound. Soon, he reached the place where the woodcutter was cutting wood. The king asked the woodcutter for water to drink. The woodcutter offered him water with great affection. After drinking the water, the king felt very pleased and said to him, “I am the king; ask for whatever you want.” Pleased with him, the king gifted him a garden of sandalwood trees.
Upon receiving such a massive number of trees, the woodcutter was overjoyed and thought to himself, “Earlier, I had to wander from forest to forest for a single bundle of wood, but now I have an entire forest. That is why it is said that kings are indeed kings.”
That woodcutter used to turn wood into charcoal and sell it. He was completely unaware of the importance and immense value of sandalwood. Therefore, he began cutting down those sandalwood trees as well, turning them into charcoal to sell. In this way, slowly, the entire garden became empty, and he resumed cutting ordinary wood in the forest just as before.
Suddenly, one day, the king went to the forest to hunt again. He saw the same woodcutter chopping wood as before. The king went up to him and asked, “O woodcutter! Are you bound by your habit? Do you still not leave this business?”
The woodcutter replied respectfully, “Long live the King! You are a king, what do you care? We are labouring people; if we don’t work hard, what will we eat? What great fortune or treasure did you give me that would never run out?”
Surprised, the king asked, “Where is that sandalwood garden, which contained thousands of sandalwood trees?”
“That finished long ago!” replied the woodcutter, and he narrated the entire reality of his life.
The king felt both angry and astonished at his foolishness. The king thought that since he did not know the preciousness and value of sandalwood, he should be shown its true worth. The king asked, “Do you have any piece of wood left from that garden?”
The woodcutter replied, “Nothing else is left; only the wooden handle attached to the axe is from that wood.”
“Alright! Take this piece of wood to the market and inquire about its price!” said the king. Upon hearing the market price of that small piece of sandalwood, the woodcutter held his head and began to weep. He started crying bitterly, lamenting, “Alas! I converted such a precious garden into charcoal and sold it off! But what is the use of crying over spilt milk?”
Moral Lesson
In the same way, O human, this human body of yours is also a garden of sandalwood, and the breaths running through it are the sandalwood trees. Great spiritual masters have valued a single breath as equal to diamonds, rubies, gems, and the wealth of all three worlds—in fact, even far more valuable than that.
In the same way, humans are also burning away these precious breaths like sandalwood trees in the fire of worldly vices and desires, turning them into charcoal. Thus, when humans exhaust all their breaths, they will become completely bankrupt, just like that woodcutter.
Therefore, if a person attends spiritual congregation of true saints, they can invest this valuable capital of breaths into the remembrance of the Lord, gaining the highest benefit and breaking the cycle of life and death.
