At the time, the Thi family had three sons, who had been punished for their misdeeds and locked up in a dungeon by the Heavenly Emperor. Knowing that the king wanted an heir, the God of Birth (Nam Tao) advised the Heavenly Emperor to let the three Thi brothers be reincarnated into the royal family, but as daughters.

The queen finally became pregnant. After several attempts, she only managed to give birth to three daughters named Dieu Thanh, Dieu Am, and Dieu Thien. Having failed to produce a son, the King was disappointed. The princesses grew up over time. Among them, the third princess was beautiful inside and out, but this good-natured princess only hoped to become a nun.

The king wanted to marry off his daughters, hoping that a good son-in-law could succeed him. Unfortunately, his two sons-in-law from the Trieu and Ma families were greedy and undeserving of the throne. Therefore, he forced the third princess to marry, hoping to find a good son-in-law this time.

The youngest princess refused to marry as her sole wish was to become a nun. The infuriated king locked her up in the back garden and isolated her from everyone. She found this a perfectly quiet setting in which to meditate. The king had her taken to Bach Tuoc Pagoda and ordered the monks to give her arduous tasks, expecting that she would be discouraged and give up. Yet again, the princess was excited. She considered suffering the nature of life and worked hard, hoping to attain enlightenment.

The king had the army burn the pagoda and kill the monks. The princess slit her palm and threw her hand in the air. The Heavenly Emperor turned her drops of blood into rain, which put out the fire. This enraged the king further. Despite interventions from the queen and others, he ordered the princess to be taken to the execution ground and beheaded for her disobedience.

The Heavenly Emperor immediately ordered that a deity turn into a tiger to rescue the princess and carry her into the forest to escape this madness. Having managed to escape the royal soldiers who pursued her, she was taken by the messenger of the King of Hell to visit the eighteen levels of Hell. Here, the princess witnessed the torture endured by many sinners and begged for an amnesty: 

If only all cells were vacant
If only all records of sins were expunged.

Her sincerity touched the Heavenly Emperor, who later asked the King of Hell to grant all sinners amnesty. Afterward, the princess was carried by the Tiger Deity back to Earth. She returned to Giai Oan Pagoda to meditate. Buddha appreciated her benevolence and ordered the Tiger Deity to take her to Huong Tich Cave. Before entering the cave, Buddha asked her to bathe in Giai Oan Stream (The Stream of Exculpation). This allowed her to shed all worries and concentrate on her religious practice.

Nine years later, she possessed many magical powers and was hailed by Buddhas as the Bodhisattva (Buddha-to-be) of Compassion. She became known as the Third Lady for her desire to practice Buddhism and bring peace to all sentient beings.

At the time, her father fell seriously ill. Her home kingdom was in chaos because his two sons-in-law were fighting for the throne. To help her father, the Third Lady disguised herself and cured his illness, thus saving the royal family from ruin. To cure her father, she chopped off her hands and gouged out her eyes because these body parts were key ingredients for the remedy. After her father recuperated, she returned to Huong Tich Cave and continued her practice.

The king took his entire family to the cave to thank the person who had saved his life. There, he realized that his savior was the third princess, whom he had previously mistreated. Seeing that the Third Lady had lost both her hands and eyes, her family felt great sorrow. She told them not to feel badly for her because she was already satisfied with the opportunity to practice Buddhism.

The family finally reunited after years of separation. It was when that the king realized his wrongdoings and wished to atone for them by becoming a monk. Moved by her family’s sincerity, the Heavenly Emperor helped the Third Lady to return to her former state by using magic. He then ordained the third princess as the Bodhisattva of Compassion, the first princess as the Bodhisattva of Wisdom and Insight, the second princess as the Bodhisattva of Universal Virtue, the king as the Bodhisattva of Right Perception, and the queen as the Bodhisattva of Right Encouragement.

The Third Lady and her family went down in history and in folk poetry:

In our homeland of Vietnam
Huong Pagoda is home to the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

The Third Lady and her family are now worshipped in Tien Son Cave, part of Huong Pagoda. Every spring, visitors from far and wide flock to the pagoda and partake in a festival. It has become a beautiful tradition and cultural event in Vietnam.