On the road to Pala-U waterfall in Thailand, your eye might be caught by a large Teepee made of prayer flags among the trees. This is a part of the Thousand Stars Foundation, a Himalayan retreat in Prachuap Khirikhan province.
There are a variety of structures around the property. Some of them house statues of the boddhisattvas of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. The prayer flag stupas are used for meditation and mantras.
Further up the mountain slopes of the property is the area where building of the Great Stupa has begun. The purpose of this structure is to place the energy of prayer in the service of world happiness. This is going to be a huge structure.
With the water features and prayer flags fluttering in the breeze against the backdrop of the mountains this is already a beautiful place.
When completed, the structure will be impressive indeed. In the meantime, there are plenty of devotional and meditation activities to busy oneself with.
Alasdair McLeod 