Walk for Peace

It is happening now in southern USA, step by peaceful, loving step.

Have you heard about it? It is happening now, step by peaceful, loving step.

The Walk for Peace is a 2,300-mile, 120-day pilgrimage initiated by a group of 20 Buddhist monks from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center (affiliated with the Huong Dao Temple) in Fort Worth, Texas. The walk began on October 26, 2025, and is scheduled to conclude in Washington, D.C., on February 13, 2026, with the goal of promoting peace, loving-kindness, and compassion across the United States.

The monks are part of a Vietnamese Buddhist tradition based in Fort Worth’s historic Stop Six neighborhood. The walk is led by Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, and the monks are accompanied by Aloka, a rescue dog who has become a symbol of the journey. People give the monks flowers, the monks give blessings, and local police protect them along the way.

The pilgrimage was conceived as a response to global and national uncertainty, intended to bring blessings and promote inner peace during a time of intense political and social division in the U.S.. The goal is not protest, but a “journey to bring blessings” and to promote “loving-kindness and compassion”.

The monks say that “peace is not a destination — it is a practice” that begins within the heart of each person and radiates outward. The monks maintain a meditative, silent, or low-noise walking pace, often walking in a single file along roadsides. They also give peace talks to the public when they stop overnight.

The initiative aims to highlight Buddhism’s long tradition of activism for peace, using quiet presence to foster unity, healing, and compassion. The monks are traveling through 10 states, stopping at state capitols, local communities, and historic landmarks. Many local churches have invited them into their community.

The monks rely on the generosity of communities for food and water along the way. Despite a serious traffic accident on November 19, 2025, near Houston, which resulted in two injuries and one leg amputation for a participant (Bhante Dam Phommasan), the monks continued their journey.

The journey has garnered significant attention, with over a million followers on social media, where the monks share updates on their progress. The pilgrimage is scheduled to end at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Loving-kindness is not something we are forced to have—it’s what naturally arises when we remember that every person we meet carries the same tender hopes and fears we do.

It’s the gentle wish that others might be happy, might be safe, might be at peace—not because they’ve earned it or deserve it by some measure, but simply because they are alive, just as we are, doing their best to navigate this beautiful and also difficult world.

When we practice loving-kindness, we’re not pretending everything is perfect or ignoring real harm. We’re simply choosing to meet each moment, each person, with as much warmth and care as we can offer—knowing that kindness doesn’t diminish us, it expands us.

May loving-kindness flow freely from your heart today—to those who are easy to love, and to those who challenge you, to strangers whose paths briefly cross yours, and most tenderly, to yourself.

May you and all beings be well, happy, and at peace.

May I be brave. May I not fear change. May I not fear old age. May I not fear sickness. May I not fear death. May I be open. May I say yes to my life moment by moment. May I be a message and agent of possibility and transformative action. May I be patient. May I live with a sense of urgency. May I see the interconnectivity of all with all. May I be kind. May I understand what is real. May I be creative. May I be at peace. May I be happy. And may you be as well.

The Walk for Peace reminds me to wake up again and again in mindfulness and compassion. It helps me to live in this chaotic time, moment by moment, and to call others to walk for peace and loving-kindness, step by step.

What about you?