Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche passed away on September 27, 1991. The Tibetan and religious communities mark this date by the lunar calendar and, this year, the international ceremonies will be on October 12.

His achievements in different fields each seem more than enough to have filled a whole lifetime. He spent 20 years in retreat, wrote over 25 volumes on Buddhist philosophy and practice, published and saved countless texts, and initiated numerous projects to preserve and disseminate Buddhist thought, tradition and culture.

Rinpoche has left us a tremendous legacy in his writings, work on cultural preservation, and through his many students  who can carry on his lineage and the teachings.

But above all, what he considered most important was that the teachings he had realized and transmitted were put into practice by others to create a better world.

From his book, The Heart of Compassion, published by Shambala Publications:

Indeed, try as you might, there is no way you will ever be rid of your attachment and hatred as long as you keep believing that they arise because of the external objects or circumstances to which they are connected. The more you attempt to reject external phenomena, the more they will spring back at you. Hence, therefore, the importance of recognizing the empty nature of your thoughts and simply allowing them to dissolve.