Walking for peace across America: Buddhist monks embark on a 3,700-kilometer journey
Walking for peace across America:
Buddhist monks embark on a 3,700-kilometer journey
By: Sabrina Careri
Walking for peace across America:
Buddhist monks embark on a 3,700-kilometer journey
In October 2025, nearly two dozen Buddhist monks set out on a journey to promote nonviolence, national healing, and mindfulness. Accompanied by a devoted rescue dog from India named Aloka, their walk began in Fort Worth, Texas, and reminds us of how compassion can inspire change.
In late October 2025, a journey began in Fort Worth, Texas with the measured footsteps of a small group of Buddhist monks. Dressed in traditional saffron robes and accompanied by a devoted rescue dog from India named Aloka, nearly two dozen monks have set out on a mission to promote compassion, nonviolence, national healing, and mindfulness.
Known as the Walk for Peace, this journey will span roughly 3,700 kilometers from Texas to Washington, D.C – a trek estimated to take about 120 days to complete. From the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, this movement represents a model of peace (not protest) through action. Their goal is simple: to plant seeds of peace and remind people that harmony begins with compassion, which begins within each of us.
“The Walk for Peace is a simple yet meaningful reminder that unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole,” Bhikkhu Pannakara, spiritual leader of the Walk for Peace, wrote in a blog post. This message arrives at an especially divisive and polarizing time in the U.S. and around the world, when political tensions are high and many communities feel fractured and fearful, making this call for peace all the more resonant.
The monks have been welcomed by religious institutions and local communities nationwide. At a time marked by growing social and environmental challenges, compassion is more important than ever. When we foster understanding and empathy, we can pave the way to bridge the divides between people to inspire collective action and mutual respect, and actually achieve peace.
The monks’ message about caring for one another extends to caring for the Earth too. Small acts of kindness can have a ripple effect, and create a future that is both peaceful and sustainable. Having compassion is about having deep empathy for another’s experiences and suffering, but is coupled with the desire to make a difference to relieve it. In an era of conflict and environmental uncertainty around the world, compassion becomes hope and a guiding force for change. The monk’s journey reminds us of that.
The Walk for Peace is expected to conclude on February 13, 2026, when the monks arrive at the U.S. Capitol. You can follow their journey in real time by visiting the live map that tracks their location.
