In an act to foster peace in America, Buddhist monks begin a walk for peace to D.C.

Teravada Buddhist Monks began their walk for peace in the United States Oct. 26 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas, which is set to end sometime in February in Washington, D.C. The walk symbolizes a need for peace and unification in the country and encourages citizens to spread kindness. 

They have previously walked in India in 2022 for international connections. They have hit American southern states including Louisiana, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, on their way to D.C.

Along this 2,300 mile walk, they make stops allowing them to give words of peace and patience to locals in hopes of  “[Awakening] the peace that already lives within each of us,” according to their website’s mission statement.

Craig Carey, VHS ethnic studies, AVID and world history teacher said, “The peace walk is a good example of how to do that. You don’t need to use all that curse language to make your point just like monks don’t need to use violence to make their point. If you’re articulate enough and if you’re thoughtful enough, you can make your point without being coarse, violent or ridiculous. The bad habits [students] have of using slurs and emphasis and so casually is another example. We can do better.” 

The walk for peace gained attention through social media platforms, which have nationally connected their message from beyond the states they are traveling to and into states in the western United States.  

People have mistaken this walk as a protest for change. Clarifying this misinterpretation, the monks spoke out addressing it as a “spiritual practice” not to be mistaken as a protest.

Unlike protests Americans have witnessed, like the BLM movement and ICE walkouts, this walk is not a result of a specific action. The walk was motivated by disunity amongst the country and is a representation of peace for Americans to mirror. Their purpose is to include Americans in their mission for added patience, peace and love to the world, emphasizing each person’s role in their walk to unify.

Salene Dang ‘26 said, “As students we can apply the idea of peace and mindfulness into how we handle conflict I think everyday becomes like increasingly turbulent in a lot of conversations and to keep in mind that we need to be mindful of the other sides opinions and beliefs and need to take this into consideration instead of just going straight for aggression and violence.”

So what’s the purpose of the peace walk? The purpose of the walk has been the hope of developing American awareness and attention as to how they peacefully communicate, treat, react, and interact with each other in a time which could be considered as divided.