Huyền Quang

Huyền Quang (1254–1334), meaning "Mysterious Light," was the third and final patriarch of the original Trúc Lâm lineage and one of Vietnam's most celebrated poet-monks. Born Lý Đạo Tái in Bắc Giang, he passed the highest imperial examination at age twenty-one and served in the royal academy, where his literary talents so impressed visiting Chinese ambassadors that they praised him as a genius.

His spiritual transformation came while attending a lecture by Pháp Loa at Vĩnh Nghiêm temple. He reflected that official status could only reach "fairyland," whereas Buddhist practice could reach enlightenment. In 1305, he ordained and became Trần Nhân Tông's assistant. He received Zen transmission from Pháp Loa in 1317. The most famous episode of his life is the "Điểm Bích incident" — the king sent an imperial courtesan to test his virtue with seductive tactics. She filed false reports damaging his reputation, creating a scandal debated for centuries. The king eventually discovered the truth. When Pháp Loa died in 1330, Huyền Quang became the third patriarch at age seventy-seven. His twenty-four surviving poems are considered among the finest in classical Vietnamese literature. He died on January 23, 1334, at age eighty.