By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware

Overview: On October 26, 2025, the monks embarked from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhaana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, making a statement calling for world peace. The walk ended amid thousands of supporters, including political leaders and clergy from many faiths.

(WIB) – Rev. Rhonda Boozer-Yeary, a community engagement manager at University of Maryland Medical Center, said she’s always been intrigued by the lifestyle of monks, regardless of their faith. The fascination began when she was a child, riding past the Holy Trinity Monastery on Park Heights Avenue in Baltimore, and having a rare sighting of a monk.

“I was always in awe and still am today, quite honestly,” she says. “The high level of commitment and self-abandonment to whatever they believe in is fascinating,” she says.

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So when Boozer-Yeary was offered an opportunity to greet the Venerable Monks on completion of their 2,300-mile, four-month walk to Washington. D.C. last week, “I quickly accepted the invitation, as I’d been following them, and their Walk for Peace, online.”

The Theravada Buddhist Monks’ Walk for Peace that began October 26, 2025, at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, culminated with thousands of supporters, including clergy leaders from many faiths.  Even though she was in the crowd, Boozer-Yeary said, the atmosphere generated by the monks’ presence was remarkable. 

“The feelings of reverence and peace were in the air and quite palpable,” she says. “It was an amazing feeling of community where most there, regardless of belief system or political affiliation, were in the same place and on one accord.”

Calls for Peace

Around two dozen of the monks began what they called a “walking meditation for peace,” rooted in core Buddhist teachings of compassion, nonviolence, and mindful action. Their walk — which included some who made the trek barefoot, accompanied by a dog — was a call for an end to global coflicts and an end to violence against citizens.

The saffron and maroon-robed monks, led by the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, entered the nation’s capital following a trek that wound through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, drawing more attention as they proceeded.

All religions’ leaders [are] here together for the same mission: peace. We are walking together on this path to find peace for ourselves, to share that with our nation and the world. – Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, Theravada Buddhist Monk

When they reached Washington. supporters met them with flowers and banners calling for peace. Many held homemade messages promoting peace and unity; some participated in moments of sience, while others joined in interfaith rituals at landmark sites, including the Washington National Cathedral.

“Our mission was not a protest,” Pannakara told the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial. “It’s a reminder that hope still exists when people are willing to care. Hope is the final light that must never go out.”

He said he would remember that moment for the rest of his life, “and I hope you do the same.” 

“Spirit of Humility”

During a multifaith service at National Cathedral service, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde echoed the sentiment. 

“I want to especially greet all of you, our interfaith friends and siblings of one human family,” Budde said. “It is such a privilege for us to gather in a spirit of humility and the opportunity to learn from one another.”

She then delivered the invocation of St. Francis’ plea for peace: ”Lord, make us instruments of your peace…where there is hatred, let us love.”

In turn, Pannakara spoke to the assembled crowd about the importance of mindfulness and compassion in everyday life. Peace, he said, must begin within individuals before it can spread across humanity.

“All religions’ leaders [are] here together for the same mission: peace,” Pannakara said. “We are walking together on this path to find peace for ourselves, to share that with our nation and the world.”

Bishop LaTrelle Easterling of the Baltimore-Washington Conference United Methodist Church said the pilgrimage of the monks “was neither commodified nor partisan; rather, it emerged from a profound conviction that peace is possible when we commit ourselves to daily mindfulness, presence, and compassion.”

“My heart continues to overflow with gratitude for the privilege of walking alongside them even briefly,” she said. “Rarely do we encounter individuals so wholly committed, both selfless and sacrificial, to such a disciplined practice…peace is possible when we commit ourselves to daily mindfulness, presence, and compassion.”

Collective Cry for Peace

Eugene Tyrrell, who came from New Jersey to see the monks he’d been following since the beginning of the march, said the gathering was profoundly meaningful.

“It says we are one heart, and we want to get beyond all the petty squabbles that pull us apart. We don’t want this nonsense.”

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For her part, Boozer-Yeary says the monks’ visit reinforced her decision to see nuance and diversity in the faith community, rather than seeing religion in Black and white terms. 

“It is possible to remain resolute in one’s beliefs, while still learning from others who may not share that same belief,” she says. The sense of peace and joy she felt at the gathering proved that there are more commonalities than differences when it comes to worship. 

“It didn’t matter if you followed the teachings of Jesus, Buddha, Allah, or didn’t follow any teachings at all,” Boozer-Yeazy says. “In that moment in time, our collective hearts’ cry was for peace.”