[Reportage] Monks’ 2,300-mile walk for peace inspires hope in a troubled US

A gaggle of Buddhist monks stroll by Washington, following their 2,300-mile “Stroll for Peace,” on Feb. 11, 2026. (EPA/Yonhap)

“Thanks for bringing this type of power!”

After greeting the monks in entrance of the US Capitol on Wednesday, Debbie Evans, 54, adopted alongside at a distance, carrying a bouquet of flowers and an indication that stated, “THANK YOU.”

Evans and her husband stated they’d come to Washington from their houses in Milton, Delaware.

“I saved tabs on the monks on social media. They’re providing a strong message that we actually want at the present time,” stated Evans, who advised the Hankyoreh that she’s not spiritual.

Evans’ feedback replicate widespread fascination in American society over the “Stroll for Peace,” a pilgrimage by a gaggle of Buddhist monks who set out from Fort Price, Texas, on Oct. 26 and walked to Washington, DC. Their 3,700 km (2,300-mile) journey took 108 days to finish.

At each metropolis the monks handed, flower-bearing locals gathered within the streets. Some silently adopted the procession, their palms pressed collectively in a gesture of respect.

Even within the closely conservative Bible Belt, hundreds of individuals lined the streets to welcome the pilgrimage.

Native media shops identified that the monks’ silent march of compassion resonated throughout a rustic tormented by division. The monks’ followings on Fb, Instagram, TikTok and elsewhere surged to five million in mere months, rapidly displaying that they’ve develop into a cultural phenomenon.

Debbie Evans of Delaware raises a bouquet of yellow flowers and an indication studying “Thanks” as she marches with others following the “Stroll for Peace,” in Washington on Feb. 11, 2026. (Kim Received-chul/Hankyoreh)

 A silence that woke the damaged American capital
 
On the monks’ last day of their unimaginable journey, hundreds of individuals flocked to the US Capitol early that morning to welcome them, inflicting excessive congestion within the course of. The Washington police closed main roads within the metropolis alongside the monks’ route.
 
Wherever the monks went, swathed of their saffron robes, extraordinary People adopted, handing them flowers. The monks reciprocated with smiles and by placing their palms collectively.
 
The Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the vp of the Hương Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Heart in Fort Price, Texas, organized the pilgrimage with monks who got here from Thailand, Vietnam, France, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and different nations. Out of these monks, 19 managed to finish your entire journey.
 
“We hope that our nation, our world shall be healed. We hope that everybody will reside in concord,” Pannakara stated when setting out on their journey. 

A spokesperson for the middle recognized the pilgrimage as a “religious invitation,” as an alternative of being a political assertion or a name for laws.
 
When requested why so many People have been so passionate in regards to the monks, Evans replied, “As a result of many individuals want to listen to messages of peace.” 

“There’s nonetheless an air of hostility round peaceable protests. That being stated, this stroll for peace is completely different. There’s a particular form of resonance to it. I’ve by no means seen something like this earlier than,” one other onlooker stated. 
 
Some individuals following the march had tears of their eyes. 

“I’ve seen individuals completely break down out right here,” one other participant stated. “That goes to point out how many individuals want to listen to this message.”

Locals welcome the arrival of the Buddhist monks finishing up their “Stroll of Peace” in Washington, DC, on Feb. 11, 2026. (AFP/Yonhap)

 Naked ft, bandages, wheelchairs: A journey’s toll
 
The US public was additionally fascinated and intrigued by the acts of penance chosen by the monks. Some monks, together with Pannakara, opted to stroll many of the journey of their naked ft or with nothing however socks. Pannakara’s ft have been sure in thick bandages after being lower by stones and shards of glass.
 
The stroll got here with its justifiable share of obstacles. Two monks have been injured in a visitors accident close to Dayton, Texas, in November. One of many monks, Bhante Dam Phommasan, abbot of Wat Lao Buddha Khanti in Snellville, Georgia, had one in every of his legs amputated. Regardless of his damage, Phommasan joined the group of monks in January, receiving rapturous applause after finishing the stroll in a wheelchair.
 
Audrie Pearce, who joined the monks in Saluda, South Carolina, shed tears whereas watching them march. “I appeared into their eyes and I noticed peace. They’re placing their our bodies by such bodily torture and but they radiate peace,” she advised the Related Press. 
 
Aloka, a rescue canine that accompanied the monks all through your entire pilgrimage, has develop into an in a single day star. After struggling a knee damage, he needed to obtain surgical procedure for a tear in his cranial cruciate ligament however nonetheless managed to finish the stroll.
 
Now often called “Aloka the Peace Canine,” movies of him wagging his tail whereas sporting bandages have reached hundreds of views on social media. Cities comparable to Austin and states comparable to North Carolina have designated the times the monks handed by as “Stroll for Peace” days.

Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) handed out flowers to passing monks taking part within the “Stroll for Peace” because it handed in entrance of Congress. (Kim Received-chul/Hankyoreh)

 The enthusiastic response to the pilgrimage may be described as a communal response to extended political fatigue, based on US media.
 
“Their easy mission, to advocate for peace, has resonated throughout a beleaguered nation — and particularly welcome in [Washington,] a metropolis on the middle of political strife and energy,” the Related Press wrote. 
 
“The crowds popping out for the monks have transcended racial, spiritual, financial, academic and geographic strains. The widespread thread was a perception that the monks have been offering consolation,” The New York Instances reported.
 
The USA At present wrote that the hundreds of individuals following the monks in each state appeared as in the event that they have been “working after Forrest Gump.”
 
Brooke Schedneck, a professor of faith, advised the AP that the “core intention” of the monks was to “have others watch and be impressed, not a lot by phrases, however by how they’re prepared to make this sacrifice by strolling and being seen.”
 
The monks additionally submitted a request to Congress asking that Buddha’s birthday be acknowledged as a federal vacation. Pannakara made it clear that the request was not “the motivation for the pilgrimage.”
 
The monks formally ended their stroll in Annapolis, Maryland, on Thursday. 
By Kim Received-chul, Washington correspondent

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