The Southern sky, after years of warfare, gradually regained its clarity. After the victory at Như Nguyệt River, the mountains and rivers ceased to echo with the bronze drums, but instead resonated with the sound of construction hammers, temple bells, and children reading aloud in the communal courtyard.
Đại Việt entered its Golden Age the era of the Lý Dynasty when the people's will was harmonious, Heaven and Earth were at peace, and the seeds of civilization began to sprout in every piece of land.
King Lý Nhân Tông reigned for forty-seven years and was regarded as an enlightened ruler, "gentle as water, firm as mountains." He taught:
"Defend the nation with virtue, for a sharp sword can slay the enemy, but only benevolence can preserve the people's hearts."
The Lý court established a model unprecedented in dynasties. Confucianism in the court, Buddhism among the people, and above all, the path of compassion where the King and the people merged like river and water.
In 1070, the Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu) and the Imperial Academy (Quốc Tử Giám) were erected in the capital Thăng Long. Though the steles were not yet carved, the sound of children reading echoed, and from then on, the Việt land had a place to teach literacy and a foundation to cultivate talent.
An elderly mandarin once asked the King:
"The populace desires sufficiency, the court desires strength. Which do Your Majesty choose?"
The King smiled:
"If the people are sufficient, the nation is naturally strong. A ruler who forgets the people is like a tree with a rotten root demanding green leaves."
Buddhism during the Lý Dynasty was not just the religion of the pagodas, but the religion of life. From the King to the commoner, everyone believed that compassion was the greatest strength.
Amidst the hazy incense smoke, Zen Master Vạn Hạnh, who once guided King Lý Công Uẩn, was regarded as the National Master (Quốc Sư). He told his disciples:
"One who understands the Dharma does not reside in deep mountains, but retains a pure heart even amidst the marketplace."
Great pagodas were built One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột), Diên Hựu Pagoda, Phật Tích Pagoda not only as places for worship but as gathering places for the people, where they learned the Dharma, discussed national affairs, and where secular life and spirituality became one.
An old monk once told his disciple amidst the ringing of the night bell:
"The sound of the bell is not only to awaken, but to remind people to remember that they are Việt people."
In the 12th century, the court featured men like Tô Hiến Thành, loyal and upright, who placed "Righteousness" (nghĩa) above the throne itself.
When King Lý Anh Tông fell ill and entrusted his young son to Tô Hiến Thành to assist, some offered gold and silver bribes to persuade him to enthrone another. He merely laughed and replied:
"I accept the King's grace, not the gold's favor."
When he passed away, the people of Thăng Long wept as if they had lost a relative. They said:
"He defended the nation with justice, so the nation remained peaceful without the need for a sword."
During the Lý Era, the rice fields were golden, the buffaloes were fat, and the fish were plentiful. Roads were open, and boats frequently traveled. The magnificent capital Thăng Long was illuminated at night by lanterns hung along the Tô Lịch River, with the sound of chèo (Vietnamese opera) echoing over the wooden rooftops. History recorded that during that time:
"Thefts were rare; people left their doors open at night without worry."
Later generations called this the Era of Great Peace and Prosperity (Thái Bình Thịnh Thế), but the common people called it simply:
"The time when everyone could breathe with faith."
The Lý Dynasty endured for 216 years, lasting two and a half centuries of dawn illuminating the Red River. When the Lý transferred the throne to the Trần, the people were not chaotic, and the nation did not fall, because the people's hearts remained as bright as the beginning. A secluded Zen Master wrote a verse upon hearing the dynastic change:
"The dynasty passes like a drifting cloud, but the human spirit endures. The mountains change their names, the rivers change their course, but the Việt nation remains the Việt nation."
If Lý Công Uẩn established the foundation, and Lý Thường Kiệt defended the nation, then Lý Nhân Tông and the virtuous mandarins of the Lý Dynasty built the Việt soul the soul of benevolence, wisdom, and harmony.
From then on, Đại Việt was not only the land of victory but the land of light, where people knew to live for each other and knew to bow before the Dharma, but never to bow before the enemy. That is why the common people sang:
"The river may run dry, the mountains may wear away, but the benevolence of the Lý people still echoes in every pagoda, every book page, every breath of Việt Nam."