Once someone is dead, he won’t be happy if other people praise him, nor will he be angry if someone criticizes him. He has gone somewhere else in the six realms. After you have spent a number of years in retreat, people may think that you must have reached a high degree of realization. Others may say that you have just been wasting your time.
Don’t care what people say about you and your practice—just persevere.
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Pith Instructions