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There is a Vietnamese story about the life of Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) before S/He became a Celestial Bodhisattva. It was composed by an unknown author in the ballad format with the earliest print dated back to 1868. The ballad was adapted to theatre performance and became so popular that it coined the term “Thi Kinh’s injustice” to express any injustice befallen to good people without a way to resolve. The story features 3 chapters that go as followed:

Chapter 1: A long time ago there was a monk who was closed to attaining Buddhahood. Shakyamuni Buddha wanted to test him one last time, so he let the monk be reborn as Thi Kinh (Ms. Respect). Ms. Respect belonged to the the poorest and feeblest family in the village, but then she was married off to Thiện Sĩ (Mr. Goodman), the son of the richest family in the village next door. One night, Mr. Goodman studied late and dozed off. Ms. Respect noticed her husband had a hair that was out of place on his chin, so she used a knife to attempt to cut it off. Mr. Goodman suddenly woke up as she had her knife right next to his throat, so he screamed for help, thinking his wife was trying to murder him. His parents instantly accused Ms. Respect of murder and kicked her out. They wanted to get a richer wife for their son. Ms. Respect was upset. She disguised herself as a man and asked to be ordained into a monastery. She was bestowed the Dharma name Kính Tâm (Respectful Heart).

Chapter 2: In the area where Ms. Respect ordained there was a daughter of a rich family called Thị Mầu (Ms. Color). Ms. Color was lustful, and she became obsessed with the novice Respectful Heart. She enticed the novice, but “he” ignored her. Upset by the rejection, Ms. Color slept with a slave at home and got pregnant. The incident got to the village officials’ ears, and they brought her to the village’s communal house to investigate. They wanted to get some bribery out of this scandal as well. Ms. Color accused the novice of impregnating her. The officials then found the novice and beat “him” with canes as punishment. The Abbot, afraid of bad reputation, expelled the novice. Although expelled, the novice still lived next to the monastery.

Chapter 3: Ms. Color gave birth to a son and left him in front of the monastery. The novice adopted the baby and raised him. “He” would go around the village to ask for milk everyday. After 3 years, the novice got very sick from exhaustion. Before “he” passed away, “he” wrote a letter to “his” parents explaining everything. The parents then requested the monastery to organize a proper funeral. Only by then did everyone realize the novice was a woman. Shakyamuni Buddha recognized that the novice’s training had matured, and allowed her to become the Bodhisattva Guanyin.

A few personal notes:

1. The Buddha often appears as a plot device in Vietnamese folk tales. This story is not an exception.

2. There are theories about the author. He could have been a government official who saw the injustices in life, got disheartened and stayed away from worldly affairs. This ballad may have reflected his story.

3. Thich Nhat Hanh has an adaptation of this story in the style of “Old Path White Clouds”. I’m not aware of any English translation available.

4. The “leaving your baby at the gates of a monastery” is not only a trope but also a reality.