Lama Dampa Sonam Gyaltsen

Sönam Gyaltsen, usually just known by his title, "Lama Dampa", was one of the thirteen sons of the abbot-ruler (dansa chenpo) Zangpo Pal who governed the see from 1306 to 1323 and therefore had a key position in the politics of Tibet under the overlordship of the Yuan emperor.

The Phagmodrupa were victorious, but the ponchen Gyalwa Zangpo and the Sakya cleric Kunpangpa conspired to kill the troublemaker and seize Phagmodru.

In 1373 the Phagmodrupa ruler Jamyang Shakya Gyaltsen asked him to head a politico-religious meeting in Nêdong, confirming his status as a highly respected lama.

Some years after his abdication, Lama Dampa spent time and effort restoring Samye, the monastery associated with the old kings, which had been reduced to ruins during the fighting that preceded the Phagmodrupa victory.

[7] He subsequently authored a pseudo-historical work, Clear Mirror on Royal Genealogy (1368), where the historical details about the ancient kings were overlaid with Buddhist embellishments.

The style of the narrative tended to retrospectively tone down the Chinese influences on Tibet which had accompanied the period of Mongol overlordship.

The clear mirror made a great impact on the Tibetan view of their ancient history and thus supported Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen's project of national renewal.