In late October, a group of 19 Buddhist monks left Fort Worth, Texas, beginning a hike that would last 108 days and cross seven states, attracting millions of online fans and the adoption of a dog named Aloka. They walked in single file, many of them barefoot, carrying flowers, handing out bracelets and picking up new followers along the way. In Texas, two monks were struck by a car, and one of them lost a leg to amputation. Along the way they were met by thousands of admirers, who mostly greeted them with reverent silence rather than cheers or applause. After some 2,300 miles later, the walk ended this week in Washington, D.C., accompanied by images of worn shoes and battered, bloodied feet. The purpose of this pilgrimage was to raise awareness for peace.
“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” the Venerable Bhikkhu Paññākāra, a Vietnamese-American monk who led the march, said while passing through North Carolina. When they arrived in Washington on Tuesday, they were met with a large media presence as around 3,500 people packed into an arena to hear them speak. But this mission was “not to bring you any peace,” Paññākāra said, “but to raise the awareness of peace so that you can unlock that box and free it.”
