I am very sad to hear that Ato Rinpoche passed away in England on 18th May at 7.45am on Guru Rinpoche day.
He was one of the first batch of Kagyu Lamas who came to the West and settled in the UK. I knew him since I was 10 years old as he became the leader of the Young Lamas Home School after Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche left for England. He also served as the representative of the Kagyu School in the Tibetan Administration in India.
When he was working as a porter in Cambridge hospital he had an accident. He fell down the stairs with his patient, but Rinpoche made sure that the patient fell on top of his body so that he would not be harmed. In the process Rinpoche’s back was badly damaged and since then he lived a semi retired life.
Rinpoche was a very highly trained master and traveled and taught extensively, especially in Europe and America. He was a nephew of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and inherited several qualities of his uncle. Rinpoche dedicated most of his life to rebuilding his monastery in Tibet and bringing it to its past glory.