Thonmi Sambhota - the inventor of the Tibetan script and author in the 7th century AD. Besides, he is also the creator of Tibetan language and Tibetan incense. He was born in a small village called Lure located in the Nyemo County of Lhasa.
When he was 15 years old, he was the fourth of seven wise ministers of the emperor Songtsen Gampohe, and he was sent to India with other sixteen youths by Songsten Gampo(was the founder of the Tibetan Empire) to learn the alphabet and gather information on Buddhism.
It was recorded that, the alphabet was put to use during the state-sponsored translation of Buddhist texts from Sanskrit, Chinese and several Central Asian languages, which began during the reign of King Trisong Deutsen, and continued during the reign of King Tri Ralpachen (c. 877-896 CE), by whose decree the written language was codified.
Legend has it that Thönmi Sambhota not only invented the Tibetan script and rules of grammar, but was also the first to translate Buddhist texts. He is credited with translating the Pinnacle of the Precious Collection, the Zamatog Sutra and the twenty-one sutras and tantras of Avalokiteshvara. According to one source, he even translated the Prajñaparamita in 100,000 Verses.
The legendary Thonmi Sambhota is widely regarded as one of the earlier incarnations of Dorje Shugden. His life, although shrouded in legend, is still very much an integral part of early Tibetan history. His name is written as Thonmi or sometimes as Tumi (man from Tu), reflecting the place of his birth. Sambhota is Sanskrit and it means Tibetan (Bhota) Scholar (Sam).
The first mention of Thönmi Sambhota comes in the history (
?, chos 'byung) of the great scholar Butön (1290-1364). He does not mention the names of the two texts attributed to him by the later tradition, but refers to him as the author of eight grammatical treatises (
??, yi ge dang sgra’i bstan bcos brgyad mdzad de).
Butön mentions the mission to develop an alphabet and says this was entrusted to thon mi a nu’i bu, i.e. a son of Thönmi Anu. A few lines further on in his text, Butön speaks about a translator of Buddhist texts called Thonmi Sambhota, but does not indicate this is the same person.
The next source to mention Thönmi is the Blue Annals of Shyönnu Pal (1392-1481), written between 1476 and 1478, which gives a slightly more elaborate account, but basically the same as Butön.
Thonmi Sambhota is said to have been born to Anu, a minister to King Songtsen Gampo and was from the Thonmi clan from Central Tibet. He grew to become such an intelligent young man that the Tibetan Emperor showed him favor.
There is no record of the year of Tonmi Sambhota’s death or the length of his life. He is said to have had at least one son called Mahasata and grandson Nyima Longsel (nyi ma klong gsal). It is also said that the children of his nephews were called Depa Yargyabpa (sde pa yar rgyab pa). His apprentice translators were named Dharmakosha, Lhalung Dorje Pel (lha lung rdo rje dpal) and Drenka Mulakosha (bran ka mu la ko sha).
-----------------------------------------------
This is former residence of Thonmi Sambhota
(It is said that the old cypress in front of the residence is built by Thonmi Sambhota himself)
The residence of Thonmi Sambhota was originally built in the period of Sontzen Gampo, the King of Tubo Kingdom of 1,300 years ago, and now it is the key cultural relics under state protection.
The former residence of Thonmi Sambhota is composed of a place of abode and a scripture hall. In front of the residence, there is an old cypress.
Zhang Shijie, the director of Travel Bureau in Nyemo County, said that allegedly the old cypress was built by Thonmi Sambhota himself, but it was dead hundreds of years ago. However, the local people saw it as a holy tree so that no one dared to cut it down. Nevertheless the tree revived dozens of years ago. The revived tree couldn't stand by itself and even fell down, so the local people fastened it with iron stands. Now it grows much more vigorously.
Source:
http://chinatibet.people.com.cn/8312107.html