More about Ecie Hursthouse
January 30, 2008 by spc108
Ecie Hursthouse is the Director of our sister FPMT Center in New Zealand, Amitabha Hospice Center (http://www.amitabhahospice.org). Ecie was recently in a catastrophic car accident.
The Spiritual Director of FPMT, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, is requesting every FPMT Center to recite the Vajra Cutter Sutra 110 times. The specific dedication is:
“For Ecie Hursthouse, if it is beneficial and there is karma for her quick recovery, and for her to live in bodhichitta and actualize enlightenment as quickly as possible. If not, for her to have a peaceful death and be reborn in the pureland and to achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible, or to receive a perfect human rebirth, meet a perfectly qualified Mahayana virtuous friend, be able to practice the Mahayana path and to become enlightened as quickly as possible.”
Ecie Hursthouse is a long long long time student of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Due to her devotion and extremely good heart she got the idea to open the first Buddhist Hospice Center in New Zealand. Ecie helped to train over a thousand volunteers for this Center. Volunteers go out into the community and help at the in-patient facility.This kind of hospice is unbelievably special because not only do they provide all the normal care a Hospice facility provides, but also due to the unique teachings from our Precious Teacher Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, prayers and mantras are said for the patients that help them to get a better rebirth and get enlightened more quickly.
All of this is due to Ecie Hursthouse’s devotion to our Guru, and due to her unbelievably good heart and strong perseverance to alleviate suffering of others. It’s an honor to be able to help to repay her kindness to serving sentient beings so selflessly like she has done, and to her deep deep devotion to Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. I’ve often thought that Amitabha Hospice Center is a perfect model and that we should strive to open a similar center in the D.C. area.
Ecie deserves all this love and prayers from us so much. Please send an email to Lorne Ladner with the number of recitations that you complete on Ecie’s behalf (maniwheel@verizon.net). The Diamond Cutter Sutra is downloadable in various languages from http://www.fpmt. org/teachers/zopa/advice/vajracuttersutra.asp
Posted by: Terry Ladner
Here’s a beautiful article that Ecie wrote:
http://www.dharmaweb.org/index.php?title=A_Buddhist_View_of_Life%2C_Death_and_Rebirth_by_Ecie_Hursthouse&printable=yes
UPDATE: We have just received an email from Lorne Ladner letting us know that 43 recitations have been done so far. We would like to thank everyone who has participated so far, and encourage everyone to continue to recite the Diamond Cutter Sutra on behalf of Ecie.
Ecie’s family is maintaining a detailed blog about her recovery here: http://www.bc.org.nz/smash/.