TL;DR: Từ Đạo Hạnh, Nguyễn Minh Không và Dương Không Lộ được Lĩnh Nam chích quái kể thành truyện có phép lạ. Bài phân biệt tầng truyện kể, tầng văn bản Phật giáo và tầng thờ cúng trong làng.
Who were the three Lý-era Zen masters and why are they often named together?
Từ Đạo Hạnh, Nguyễn Minh Không and Dương Không Lộ are three Zen masters told in two stories of Lĩnh Nam chích quái: Từ Đạo Hạnh with Nguyễn Minh Không, and Dương Không Lộ with Nguyễn Giác Hải[1]. In that book they do not appear as ordinary monks but as figures with magical powers and ties to kings; later they were also worshipped in many places.
Several layers of material must be kept apart. Lĩnh Nam chích quái is a book of legends that tells of these figures with many fantastic details[1]. Thiền uyển tập anh is a collection of Zen masters' biographies, belonging to the Buddhist textual layer. Village belief is the third layer, taking up their image through festivals, worship and oral tales in each locality.
How is Từ Đạo Hạnh told in Lĩnh Nam chích quái?
According to Lĩnh Nam chích quái, Từ Đạo Hạnh was named Từ Lộ, with the style name Đạo Hạnh, and was a Zen master of Thiên Phúc temple on Phật Tích mountain (chùa Thầy). His father Từ Vinh served as a Tăng quan đô sát under the Lý, often visited An Lãng village, married a woman of the Tăng family named Loan, and settled there[1]. In youth he befriended a Confucian student surnamed Phí, the Daoist Lê Toàn Nghĩa and the musician Phan Ất; at night he studied hard, by day he played the flute, played ball and gambled[1].
The story says his father was killed by Marquis Diên Thành through evil sorcery. Từ Đạo Hạnh sought a teacher, met a Zen master at the Pháp Vân mountain temple, and then recited the Great Compassion dhāraṇī 108,000 times to take revenge, after which he was called national teacher[1]. As he was about to die, he told Nguyễn Minh Không that in his next life he would hold the sovereign's seat, bearing a debt of illness that could not be avoided, and that Minh Không should save him; the story links this to King Lý Thần Tông[1].
This is the telling of legend, not an official record; the fantastic details belong to the narrative layer.
Was Nguyễn Minh Không a student of Từ Đạo Hạnh?
According to Lĩnh Nam chích quái, Nguyễn Minh Không, whose real name was Nguyễn Chí Thành, was from Đàm Xá village in the Trường An Đại Hoàng area, lived at Quốc Thanh temple and was called National Teacher Không. As a young man he went to study, met Từ Đạo Hạnh, studied under him for more than ten years and received the mind-seal from his teacher[1].
The best-known legend about Nguyễn Minh Không is that he cured King Lý Thần Tông. According to Lĩnh Nam chích quái, the king suffered a disorder of the mind; Minh Không proved his power by pulling out, with two fingers of his left hand, a nail about five tấc long driven into a palace pillar, then stirring boiling oil and sprinkling it over the king's body, and the illness was cured[1]. He was made national teacher.
This story exists only in legend, not in the official histories.
How is Dương Không Lộ told in Lĩnh Nam chích quái?
According to Lĩnh Nam chích quái, Dương Không Lộ was from Hải Thanh, born into a fishing family, became a monk and devoted himself to reciting the Avataṃsaka (Hoa Nghiêm) Sutra. The story says he flew through the air on wooden clogs, walked on ice, subdued tigers and commanded dragons[1]. The story also tells of Nguyễn Giác Hải, from the same home place, who first studied under the same teacher as Không Lộ and then became his disciple, and who had ties to King Lý Nhân Tông[1].
Why did these three Zen masters become village gods?
After death they were worshipped in many places, often as Thành hoàng or patron of a craft; the manner of worship varies by locality. Từ Đạo Hạnh is tied to chùa Thầy on Phật Tích mountain and the area of Láng village.
What should be kept in mind when studying these three masters?
First, the details in Lĩnh Nam chích quái should not be taken as historical fact. They are legend, intended to teach and to explain the origin of rites, not to record history[1].
Second, a distinction must be drawn between the historical figure and the worshipped figure. One Zen master may be worshipped in many places with different deeds, according to local legend.
The textual layer, the legendary layer and the belief layer
The three Lý-era Zen masters are an example of how one figure can be seen through several layers. The narrative layer, such as Lĩnh Nam chích quái, adds fantastic details[1]. The village belief layer turns them into worshipped deities, with their own festivals and rites.
