Peace is a Practice
- Feb 6
- 5 min read
On October 25, 2025, a group of twenty-four Buddhist monks set out from Fort Worth, Texas, on a 120-day, 2,300-mile pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. Their intention was simple and profound: to elevate peacefulness in a nation roiling in discord.
They describe their mission this way:
“Rooted in both spiritual devotion and civic purpose, the Walk for Peace seeks to remind Americans that peace is not a destination — it is a practice. As the nation faces challenges of division, mental health crises, and conflict both at home and abroad, this pilgrimage offers a simple yet profound message: peace begins within the heart of each person and extends outward to families, communities, and the nation as a whole.”
Each day begins before sunrise. Because the monks have taken a vow of poverty, they rely entirely on generosity for food and shelter. Around midday, they stop for their single daily meal—a shared buffet of offerings from people along the way. Often, it is well past sundown before they rest. They have slept in churches, community centers, fire stations, and schools. Early in the journey—before word of their walk had spread—they pitched tents when no shelter was available. Some monks began the journey barefoot, but when winter storms arrived, supporters provided boots to protect their feet from frostbite.
A peace walk is a form of walking meditation. With each step, the monks focus on their breath moving in and out of their lungs. They feel the heel touch the earth, the weight shift forward, and the toes press off the ground. Their bodies move, but their awareness remains centered and calm.
Most importantly, they continually recommit to the intention of cultivating inner peace—despite blistered feet, sleet so thick it obscures their vision, and the strain of long, unforgiving days. They hold peace even when strangers shout harsh words at them. They practice peace even after two monks were hospitalized following an automobile accident that resulted in one, Bhante Dam Phommasan, losing his leg. Through their perseverance, they demonstrate that peace is a discipline forged through adversity. In doing so, they invite us to awaken our own compassion and inner harmony, no matter the challenges we face.
Leading the procession is the Venerable Bhikkhu Paññākāra, a former Motorola engineer and now vice president of the Hương Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center. Walking behind him are monks from Texas, Kentucky, and Virginia, as well as from France, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and India.
Paññākāra has led other peace walks, including a 112-day trek across India in 2022. During that journey, a stray dog began following the monks. They named him Aloka, meaning “divine light” in Sanskrit. When Paññākāra later came to the United States, he brought Aloka with him. Except for a brief stay at a veterinary clinic to repair a torn ligament, Aloka has accompanied the monks throughout this pilgrimage.
Early on day 101 of the walk, my daughter and I stood along a roadside in Virginia to watch the monks pass. A week of subfreezing temperatures after a severe snow and ice storm meant we waited for nearly two hours on an uneven bank of ice, our feet growing numb. The discomfort was a small but powerful reminder of what the monks endure daily.
Later that day, my husband and I waited another two hours outside Randolph–Macon College, the monks’ designated overnight stop. In line ahead of us stood a Tai Chi master and healer who had driven in from a city an hour away. Behind us was a family of three who had flown in from Wisconsin. People from different paths, practices, and places—drawn together by a shared longing for peace.
During his hour-long talk to a crowd of two thousand attendees, Paññākāra explained that peace in the world begins with peace in the heart of each person. He described simple practices for cultivating inner calm: caring for your physical body, keeping your living space tidy, and anchoring the mind in intention.
He recommended writing, “Today is my peaceful day,” each morning—and speaking it aloud throughout the day. When peacefulness begins to slip, he advised returning to the breath. With practice, he said, we learn to respond with kindness and compassion, even in difficult moments. “If someone throws a rock at you, pick it up and add it to your rock collection. If someone yells at you, smile and wish them well.”
What Is Buddhism?
The monks belong to the Theravada tradition, the oldest school of Buddhism. Other traditions include Tibetan, Zen, and Pure Land. While Buddhism is practiced as a religion in many parts of the world, at its core it is also a practical guide for living—one that can exist alongside any faith tradition.
The foundation of Buddhist teaching is the Four Noble Truths. Here is my personal interpretation, based on my study and reflection:
Life isn’t perfect. Life moves in rhythms—rising and falling, expanding and contracting. I once heard it compared to a wagon wheel rolling along a rutted road: sometimes we are at the top of the wheel, and sometimes we are buried in mud. This is a universal human experience.
Suffering deepens when we cling. We suffer more when we cling to good moments and resist difficult ones. The only way to stay at the apex of the wheel is if life stops moving forward. When we learn to see low points as part of a larger unfolding, we move through them with greater ease.
There is a way to reduce suffering. Life can be made gentler through conscious practices.
Those practices form the Noble Eightfold Path:
Right View: Seeing things as they are, not as we wish them to be.
Right Intention: Acting because it is right, not because we expect reward.
Right Speech: Refraining from lying, gossip, and unkind words.
Right Action: Not stealing or harming others.
Right Livelihood: Choosing work that does not cause harm.
Right Effort: Releasing negative thought patterns through mental discipline.
Right Mindfulness: Remaining rooted in the present rather than trapped in regret or worry.
Right Concentration: Practicing meditation to cultivate inner peace.
My heart is full knowing that, in a world besieged by violence, so many people are choosing peace. When we elevate peace within our own hearts, it ripples outward—across families, communities, and humanity itself—dispersing fear, grief, and hatred. Though we cannot see emotions with our eyes, they are as real and powerful as gravity.
As I remind myself every morning, I am the keeper of my body and mind; I choose what to let in. What we choose to feel matters. And what we choose to cultivate, expands through emotional contagion. Take a moment now to ask yourself, what emotion am I radiating right now?
Intend for Peace
Be the change you wish to see in the world by joining a FREE Intend for Peace session. We gather on Mondays from 7:30 - 8:00 P.M. Eastern. Everyone is welcome.
Monday, February 9 will be a guided lovingkindness meditation. Come stressed and leave feeling peaceful.
Visit my website to register.