Hải Thiệu Cương Kỷ

Hải Thiệu Cương Kỷ (c. 1810–1899) was the second ancestor of Từ Hiếu Temple and a master in the sixth generation of the Liễu Quán dharma line (fortieth generation of the Linji school). Following Nhất Định's death in 1847 and Emperor Tự Đức's order to build a proper monastery at the hermitage site, Cương Kỷ oversaw the transformation of the modest An Dưỡng Am into a spacious, properly constructed pagoda bearing the name Từ Hiếu ("Merciful Filial Piety").

Under Cương Kỷ's leadership, Từ Hiếu became a significant monastic institution. The temple also became a sanctuary for elderly eunuchs of the Nguyễn dynasty court, who donated funds and expressed their wish to be buried in the temple grounds — their tombs can still be seen there today. In 1894, under King Thành Thái's patronage, Cương Kỷ carried out a major restoration of the pagoda. Several dharma transmission gathas survive from his hand, each a personalized verse given to a disciple upon receiving transmission. He passed away in 1899, having established Từ Hiếu as an enduring center of Vietnamese Buddhist practice.