"Give Peace a Chance": Theravada Buddhist Peace Monks' 2,000-mile Journey Inspires Thousands

from The Expression Staff: February has been designated Black History Month since 1970. Black educators and students at Kent State University first proposed the designation in February 1969; former President Gerald Ford recognized it in 1976. It is now celebrated around the world.

The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the U.S. as Negro History Week and held the second week of February to honor Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass whose birthdays fell in mid-February.

As part of our effort in recognizing Black History Month, this article offered by Mike Strzelecki seems to fit the theme behind the month's core mission to inspire tolerance, acceptance, and respect for all. 

by Mike Strzelecki

I really don’t have heroes, but if I did, it would be the Peace Monks.

The Peace Monks are a group of Theravada Buddhist monks who recently walked 2,300 miles from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C. Their journey took 109 days, and was rife with hardship and peril. They walked up the spine of the Appalachian Mountains, passing through an epochal ice storm and weeks of sub-freezing temperatures. Many walked barefoot or in socks, resulting in shredded and bloody feet. One was run over by a truck, had a leg amputated, and then finished the march in a wheelchair. Aloka, a rescue dog from India, joined the monks for the entire trek, earning the moniker Aloka the Peace Dog.

The Peace Monks’ message was simple: kindness, peace, understanding, and non-violent solutions. In this present world of discord and keyboard anger, I hope this is still a message that is universal to all Americans. That resonates across all political parties, religions, and ethnicities.

My wife Kelly and I joined the Peace Monks for the last four miles of their pilgrimage. We waited for them outside a church on Capitol Hill, where they were partaking in a ceremony. Over 5,000 other marchers crowded the church entrance with us.

The church doors swung open and the 19 Peace Monks filtered into the crowd. They were joined by about 100 other local walking monks. Their robes were saffron and ochre, and some carried flowers. The crowd fell silent at their appearance. Some people bowed, some threw flower petals at the monks feet, others just stared in a quiet sense of awe - being in the presence of profound enlightenment.

I will admit that the gravity of their presence was beyond what I had imagined.

Kelly and I are not Buddhist, but we meditate and incorporate Buddhist tenets into our lives: mindfulness, lovingkindness, and non-violence (with the exception of ticks and mosquitoes, of course.) Being in the presence of the Peace Monks was powerful. I have never been in a crowd of thousands and thousands and felt so much calm and serenity and joy.

We fell in with the thousands behind the marching monks and matched their surprisingly brisk pace. We passed the Capitol Building and various Smithsonian museums. Along the way, people lined their path, snapping pictures and exchanging peace signs with the walkers. Some yelled “Thank you” to the monks. We quickly learned that this was not a celebratory parade or an energetic political demonstration. It was a solemn form of meditation, a prayer for a broken world.

The monks took a break at the Museum of African American History, before continuing on past the Washington Monument and the reflecting pool. At last, we pulled up in front of the Lincoln Memorial for a tribute to peace - the same location where Martin Luther King, Jr., offered his infamous I Have a Dream speech.

From the memorial, Tencho Gyatso, the niece of the Dalai Lama, spoke of the Peace Monks. “Their commitment, including enduring physical hardship and challenging weather conditions over a journey of more than 2,000 miles, has drawn attention both within the United States and internationally,” she said. “The message of peace and mutual understanding conveyed through their conduct, marked by humility and calm presence, has resonated with many people they encountered along the route. May their walk help sow the seeds of greater peace, understanding and compassion in the United States and beyond.”

Indeed, the Peace Monks always made it clear that one of their primary missions was connecting with people along their journey.

Martin Luther King’s son, Martin Luther King III, posted on X afterwards that the walk was “a powerful reminder that peace is practiced step by step. In a divided time, this is what it looks like to stand up for the best of who we are. Love demands endurance. Peace is strength.”

Being in the presence of the Peace Monks was powerful, for me and Kelly. I have never been in a crowd of thousands and thousands and felt so much calm and serenity and joy. The walk was a reminder to strive to live and behave more like the Peace Monks.

~ Mike Strzelecki is a freelance travel and outdoor writer, and 1981 graduate of Boyertown Area Senior High School. He writes from his house in Baltimore, Maryland. In his spare time, he joins his wife on adventures around the country observing and photographing birds.

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