There was a man who heard that sandalwood has a wonderful fragrance. So he went into the forest to look for sandalwood. 

In the forest, he met a woodcutter. He was very happy because he believed that a woodcutter must know a lot about trees in the forest, and also about sandalwood. 

‘Dear Mr. Woodcutter,’ he said. ‘I am looking for sandalwood.  Do you know how to find sandalwood?’

‘Of course I know, my young friend,’ the woodcutter replied.  ‘The one, who doesn’t know about sandalwood, can not be called a woodcutter.’

The man was very happy. It is not difficult to find sandalwood.  At least, it is not so difficult to find a woodcutter who knows about sandalwood. 

‘It is wonderful, Mr. Woodcutter,’ the man said.  ‘It is wonderful to meet you.  I wonder whether you can help me to find sandalwood, Mr. Woodcutter?’

The woodcutter looked at the man, in a mysterious way.

‘I can help you’ he said. 

‘Mr. Woodcutter, I can pay you a lot of money if you can help me to find sandalwood, which I’ve heard has a wonderful fragrance’.

‘What you have heard is correct’ the woodcutter said.  ‘Sandalwood does have a wonderful fragrance. But I shall not ask any money from you for its fragrance because it is something sacred and not to be compared with money, my friend. I shall help you find it, if you have enough patience. I hope you have enough patience to wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow, we will go to find sandalwood.’

The man was surprised because of the easy request. 

‘Waiting until tomorrow?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ the woodcutter replied. ‘The one, who can wait until tomorrow, will be able to find sandalwood. Today, you can help me with some work.’

The man happily began to help the woodcutter with his work.

 

The next morning, when the man woke up, it was already late.  The day before, he had to work quite hard. But there was happiness in him, thinking that he would find sandalwood the next day.

The woodcutter was already up. The man went to the woodcutter, who was chopping wood.

‘Today’s the day, Mr. Woodcutter,’ the man said. ‘It is today, we go and look for sandalwood.’

‘It is not today, my friend,’ the woodcutter said. ‘You woke up so late. Let’s wait until tomorrow to find sandalwood. Can you wait for tomorrow - my friend, who is practicing being patient?’

The man was a little bit disappointed but he thought it was he fault that he woke up so late. Nevertheless, he accepted the woodcutter’s proposal. 

‘Why don’t you help me with this work, my friend,’ the woodcutter said.

The man worked and thought deeply about what the woodcutter said: ‘The one, who can wait until tomorrow, will be able to find sandalwood.’ And he found his hope and happiness again.

 

One morning, when the man woke up, he discovered that three years had passed by. He had been helping the woodcutter for three long years. Every morning, the woodcutter had a reason to delay the trip and promised him that the next day they would go and find sandalwood. ‘Tomorrow’. A tomorrow that never came. Suddenly, he discovered something very important: there is no tomorrow! It was such an important discovery for him. It helped him to see clearly that this woodcutter had never actually found sandalwood. The man felt sad and left the woodcutter.

 

The man went on. And one day, he met another woodcutter.

‘Dear Mr. Woodcutter, I am looking for sandalwood,’ the man said.  ‘Do you know how to find it?’

‘Sandalwood?’ the woodcutter asked. ‘You are looking for sandalwood?  But there is no need to look for it.’

‘Why is there no need to look for sandalwood?’ the man asked.  ‘Does it not exist?’

‘Of course it does,’ the woodcutter said. ‘But there is no need to look for it since it is right in front of your eyes.’

The man did not understand anything. Sandalwood is just in front of him. Where then?  There are so many trees in this forest, but where is the sandalwood tree?

‘You don’t see the sandalwood tree?’ the woodcutter laughed.  ‘That is because you don’t have enough knowledge about trees. Stay here, work and learn with me about trees in this forest and one day, you will find sandalwood for yourself. It is right in front of your eyes.’

‘It is just in front of me,’ the man thought. ‘How interesting. I will do my best to study about all the trees in this forest and then I will find the sandalwood tree for myself.’

The man stayed with Mr. Woodcutter. He worked and studied hard. He studied about many kinds of trees, except sandalwood trees. 

‘There is no need to study about sandalwood tree,’ the woodcutter said. ‘Because it is there in front of you. You just need to know all the non sandalwood trees in this forest and then you will see the sandalwood tree.’

The man believed Mr. Woodcutter. Another three years passed by, but he was still unable to find sandalwood.

 

One morning, the man woke up and had an enlightenment: ‘This woodcutter also doesn’t know about sandalwood.’  The man felt sad for himself and for Mr. Woodcutter.

 

The man continued his search for sandalwood and one day he met another woodcutter.  He told Mr. Woodcutter every thing, about his six year quest and his search for sandalwood, without any result.

‘Don’t be disappointed, my friend,’ Mr. Woodcutter said. ‘Every time you failed, you move closer to your goal.’

‘I want so much to find sandalwood,’ the man said. ‘I have learned not to accept any promise to find sandalwood in the future, I want to see it today. Can you show me?’

‘I can show you,’ the woodcutter said, took the man’s hand, and led him into the forest.

After half day of looking, finally they arrived at a big tree. 

‘This is a sandalwood tree,’ Mr. Woodcutter said, pointing to a magnificent tree.

The man looked up at the tree. His tears rolled down his cheeks.  This is the tree he had been looking for six years. He bowed deeply in front of the woodcutter.

‘You are a truly great woodcutter,’ the man cried. ‘You didn’t ask anything from me, but instead show me to the real sandalwood tree right away. I will praise you in front of many people. This is such a beautiful tree. Look at those beautiful branches. Look at those beautiful leaves.’ 

The woodcutter didn’t say anything. He only smiled. 

 

So the man cut down the tree, and with great effort brought it home. At home, he told his friends about Mr. Woodcutter. He praised the woodcutter with good words. He praised the tree. 

‘Look at those branches,’ the man said. ‘Look at those leaves.  What a wonderful tree.’      

On hearing their friends’ story of his quest for the sandalwood tree and all the trials he’d been through some of his friends felt very excited and they also began to praise the woodcutter and the tree as well. Some of his friends didn’t say anything. But there was one friend who looked at the tree and said something very unpleasant.

‘This is not a sandalwood tree,’ his friend said.      

‘What?’ said the man who was deeply shocked and became very angry. ‘Of course it is a sandalwood tree. What do you know about trees?  I have studied about trees for more than six years. What gives you the right to tell me this is not a sandalwood tree, my friend, you are full of ignorance about trees.’

And the man began to give a lecture about trees in the forest.

‘This is not a sandalwood tree,’ his friend repeated.

The man became so angry. His face turned red as a tomato.

‘Why do you say that?’ the man asked, trying to suppress his anger.

‘Because it does not give a good smell,’ his friend said.

The man was completely astonished. It was such a simple fact that he had forgotten. His longing for sandalwood and his belief in the woodcutter had blinded him. His knowledge and his pride had also blinded him. But his friend, who didn’t know anything about trees, needed no longer than one second to see that this is not a sandalwood tree, because it doesn’t smell good. The man was so disappointed. He cried.

‘You are right,’ he said. ‘How can this be a sandalwood tree.  Look at those branches. Look at those leaves. What an ugly tree.  What an ugly woodcutter.’

He said many ugly things about the woodcutter to his friends. Some of his friends began to say ugly things about the woodcutter too. Some of them said ugly things about the tree. Some of them didn’t said anything. 

The man became more and more angry until one day he had an idea.

‘Let’s cut down all the fake trees,’ the man said. ‘In the name of the truth, I will cut down all the fake trees.’

And so he spent the rest of his life cutting down fake trees.  Many friends joined him. They set up an association. They believed they are fighting for the truth. Very often, people saw a lot of anger on their faces.

 

The day came when the man was about to die. The man laid in bed knowing that this was the last day of his life. Many people came and said goodbye to him. They praised him for what he had done with his life. 

‘You are a man of courage,’ the said. ‘You dared to fight for the truth.’

But there was one friend, who came very late at night. This friend had never praised him.

‘My friend,’ his friend said. ‘People say you have spent your whole life cutting down fake sandalwood trees. You fought for the truth. But did you ever find sandalwood?’

The man looked at his friend. He only had a few hours to live.  The question brought him back to reality.

‘No, my friend,’ the man said sadly. ‘I have never been in touch with real sandalwood.’

 

Hearing this, his friend didn’t say anything. He just took out of his pocket a piece of wood. He burned a corner of that piece of wood.  A gray smoke raised straight up. Its fragrance was very wonderful.  The man didn’t need anyone tell him to know that this is the fragrance of sandalwood. The fragrance has the capacity to confirm its own value, its own name: sandalwood.

 

 

Lữ 

Vietnamese Version: Trầm Hương