WASHINGTON – Thousands lined the streets of the nation’s capital Wednesday as a group of Buddhist monks on a peace walk that started in Texas and grew into a surprise social media phenomenon made a stop at the Lincoln Memorial.
The 19 monks, who hail from temples across the world, started their 2,300-mile Walk for Peace at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth last October. The monks were to reach their final destination in Annapolis Thursday before boarding a bus for the return journey.
The monks, some of whom were barefoot, braved frigid conditions and injuries as they crossed the southeastern U.S. But as word spread – thanks in part to savvy social media use and Aloka, their canine companion – tens of thousands came out to greet them along their way. By their arrival in Washington, the monks had picked up many more followers from temples and houses of worship across the country.
Speaking on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Bhikkhu Pannakara, the monk’s leader and head of the Fort Worth temple, encouraged everyone to practice mindfulness and compassion in their lives.
“Love and kindness does not need power, money or a title. It is simply the choice to stop before hurting, to sharpen before speaking,” Pannakara said. He celebrated people gathering “without distinctions of race or religion” and “in a spirit of unity.”
That message of peace and harmony has resonated for many across a nation that seems increasingly divided.
“We really feel we’re at a crisis point in this country right now,” said Tom Haddon, 71, who traveled from Nags Head, North Carolina, with his wife Donna to see the monks. “This was something we felt, who knows, creates some positive energy.”
Catherine Stratton Treadway, a D.C. native and lifelong Quaker, said she connected with the monks’ belief in the power of peace.
“They’re from a different religious tradition than my own, and it really is a beautiful thing to understand that love unites us all,” said Stratton Treadway, 53. “At a time that feels really chaotic and divided,” she added, that message “is really of foundational importance today.”
The journey was arduous at times. In November, two monks were injured when a truck hit the group’s escort vehicle. One of the monks, Maha Dam Phommasan, had his leg amputated, the Associated Press reported. Phommasan later rejoined the monks near Washington for the end of the walk.
The monks arrived in Washington on Tuesday, where they made a stop at American University and another at the National Cathedral for an interfaith service. On Wednesday, the group set off from St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill, with spectators joining the procession along the way.
Several thousand eventually made their way to the Lincoln Memorial. Pannakara called the crowd “the largest and most diverse gathering I have ever seen in my life.”
During the event, Tencho Gyatso, niece of the Dalai Lama, read out a message from the religious leader congratulating the monks on their achievement.
“Their initiative illustrates how religious practitioners can contribute in a constructive way to social harmony and public dialogue,” the Dalai Lama said in the letter.
The monks traveled to Annapolis Thursday, where they will march from the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to the steps of the Maryland State House.