They came, they saw and they conquered. Their long march, their presence and their purpose not only touched people’s hearts in the US but all around the world.
Carrying a message of peace and compassion, a score of monks walked from Texas and reached the US Capitol, crossing Virginia and Maryland, the two states adjoining Washington, DC.
As their march progressed, social media followed them and the crowds swelled warmly greeting the monks in town after town. Maybe they touched a chord, quietly delivering a message people needed at this fraught moment in the nation’s history.
Starting from a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, the monks in ochre robes walked for 108 days, an auspicious number, and reached DC on February 10. They completed 2,300 miles on foot, some even barefoot. For them the Walk for Peace was Dhammayatra (pilgrimage). The group sought to raise awareness of peace, loving kindness, and compassion in the US and the world.
The Walk for peace was led by the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, an IT engineer turned Theravāda Buddhist monk at the Hương Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas. It was to promote “a message of peace, nonviolence, and unity for all people regardless of faith,” during a time of significant division in the US. The group met with members of the US Congress on Capitol Hill on February 11 to appeal for recognizing Vesak, Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday.
Beyond promoting peace and goodwill, the march also aimed to connect with people along the way. “My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who made the trek barefoot. At various pit stops, he taught about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing.
Walking all the way with the marching monks was the adorable Aloka (a Sanskrit word for light), a pariah dog rescued and adopted by monks of Bhikkhu Pannakara’s temple after he followed them during a 2022 peace walk in India.
Witness to the culmination of a miraculous march
As a child I read about the Buddha and was inspired by his life and enlightenment. Some years ago, I used to go to Buddhist monastery in Winchester, West Virginia and would stay in a hut. It felt good to meditate early in the morning. Now living in Maryland, when I heard about a group of Buddhist monks walking from Texas to the nation’s capital, I wanted to pray and meditate with them.
I found out that they would be at the American University on the February 10 and then at the National Cathedral in Washington DC. But when I reached AU at 8 am, I knew there was no way of getting near them, not to speak of meditating with them. Besides the crowds, a security and police personnel were there before the monks arrived.
It was cold and snow of the recent storms was still on the road. We were told to wait. Monks walked past us; they blessed people lining the road. Some people went on their knees as a sign of respect. Others cheered. It felt great to be part of this moment, almost historic. The 19 monks were being heavily followed on social media, which I did too. But seeing them in person and their effect of generating reverence among people was an amazing experience. Soon, they waved and were gone.
I took a bus to the National Cathedral, where the interfaith meeting with the monks was being held. I stood and waited with thousands of people. I talked to a few, they were in thrall of the monks who walked all the way from Texas with a message of peace and hope. Some had driven miles to see them.
We waited for the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, who led the Walk for Peace monks, to speak. He was standing next to Episcopalian priests, mullahs, and leaders of other faith traditions. His simple words had hidden wisdom. “Every morning, on waking up say to yourself, ‘today is going to be my peaceful day’.” Also, don’t touch your phone when you wake up. Instead, make your bed. Settle down in your body before your mind meets a distraction. Write on a piece of paper: Today is going to be my peaceful day. “No one can mess your day except yourself,” he pointed out.
He continued, “We search for peace for years and somehow never find it—not because it left us, but because we forgot where we put it.”
I stayed overnight with friends in DC. Next day, on February 11, I went to the National Monument and the Capitol Hill, where the monks were scheduled to show up. The crowds there were even bigger. But all arrangements were streamlined. The security was tighter, but we could walk around. I could feel the quiet energy of people wanting to see the monks and attending the mediation event. Many were chanting and most of them were not even Buddhists. Wasn’t it just wonderful and a lifetime opportunity to be at the culmination of the miraculous march? “Yes,” Debbie, who came from Bowling Green, Virginia and her friends who drove with her, said in unison.
~ Surekha Vijh
The monks lived on one meal a day and preferred sleeping each night in tents pitched outdoors even as severe cold swept the states on their route. Such self-abnegation and simple living in public, amplified by the social media, melt many American hearts. The monks were surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. Documenting their journey on social media, they racked up millions of followers. They had started with no fixed plan nor expected such overwhelming and favorable response.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger declared February 2 as Walk for Peace Day to commemorate the day monks reached Richmond, the capital of Virginia, on completed 100 days of walking.
“We search for peace for years and somehow never find it—not because it left us, but because we forgot where we put it.”
~ Venerable Bhikkhu Paññākāra, Leader of Walk for Peace
The Buddhist group of monks completed their Walk for Peace from Texas to Washington, DC. with a special ceremony on February 11 in afternoon at the Lincoln Memorial, among a large cheering crowd.
They wrapped up their journey on February 12, in Annapolis before returning home to Texas. Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, of Indian heritage, welcomed the monks a the State House. “It is both fitting and deeply symbolic that the Walk for Peace concludes here in Annapolis — the nation’s first peacetime capital. We will never forget the grace, the purpose, and the profound spirit of peace that has brought us together today,” she said. The group was presented a Proclamation in the state House and Senate followed by Governor Wes Moore hosting a lunch for the monks.
The Walk for Peace is associated with a $200 million campaign mentioned as the Dhammacetiya Project (Temple of the Thousands Buddhas), an ambitious 14-acre development project by the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, of which Bhikku Pannakara is the vice president. The project aims to feature 840 stupas that will house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone to promote wisdom and compassion.
Also check out our earlier story on the Walk for Peace
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