The monks’ so-called Walk of Peace began on 26 October 2025 at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Since then, they have crossed multiple states on foot, often walking barefoot and at times through snow and freezing temperatures, maintaining a single-file formation throughout the journey.
The trek has gone viral on social media, resonating with millions of Americans amid a period of deep political and social division. Along the way, the monks have promoted a message of mindfulness, compassion and nonviolence.
“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the group’s leader, the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara.
The 19 monks come from Theravada Buddhist monasteries around the world. On arrival in Washington, they are scheduled to visit the Washington National Cathedral and the Lincoln Memorial, and to take part in an interfaith reception hosted in part by Washington Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde.
“Their long journey and gentle witness invite us all to deepen our commitment to compassion,” Budde said, according to the Associated Press.
The monks also plan to appeal to US lawmakers to recognise Vesak — the celebration of the Buddha’s birth — as a national holiday. However, supporters say the march has taken on broader significance beyond its original policy aim.
The final day of the walk began on Tuesday morning in Arlington, Virginia, roughly five miles from the US Capitol. A livestream posted on the group’s Facebook page showed the monks walking past snowbanks as temperatures rose above freezing for the first time after weeks of record cold across much of the eastern United States. Onlookers could be seen lining the route, applauding as the monks passed.
“For the last 108 days — a sacred number in Buddhism symbolising spiritual completion — they have walked step by step in the same formation,” one supporter wrote online.
The journey has not been without tragedy. In November, an escort vehicle accompanying the monks along a highway in Houston, Texas, was struck by a truck. Two monks were injured in the incident, and one later had his leg amputated.
After completing the march in Washington, the monks are expected to return to Texas by bus, arriving back in Fort Worth on Saturday, bringing an end to a pilgrimage that has captured national attention and inspired messages of peace far beyond the Buddhist community.
