Buddhist monks and their dog captivate Americans while walking for peace
[January 12, 2026]
By DEEPA BHARATH
A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file
down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans
nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their
route.
In their flowing saffron and ocher robes, the men are walking for peace.
It's a meditative tradition more common in South Asian countries, and
it's resonating now in the U.S., seemingly as a welcome respite from the
conflict, trauma and politics dividing the nation.
Their journey began Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in
Texas, and is scheduled to end in mid-February in Washington, D.C.,
where they will ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and
enlightenment as a federal holiday. Beyond promoting peace, their
highest priority is connecting with people along the way.
“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue
practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu
Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trek
barefoot. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every
stop.
Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have
been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge
crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states.
Documenting their journey on social media, they — and their dog, Aloka —
have racked up millions of followers online. On Saturday, thousands
thronged in Columbia, South Carolina, where the monks chanted on the
steps of the State House and received a proclamation from the city's
mayor, Daniel Rickenmann.
The physical toll of the monks long walk
At their stop Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce joined
the crowd lining Main Street. She had driven four hours from her village
of Little River, and teared up as Pannakara handed her a flower.
“There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our
country every day,” said Pearce, who describes herself as spiritual, but
not religious. “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace. They’re
putting their bodies through such physical torture and yet they radiate
peace.”
Hailing from Theravada Buddhist monasteries across the globe, the 19
monks began their 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometer) trek at the Huong Dao
Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.
Their journey has not been without peril. On Nov. 19, as the monks were
walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas, their escort vehicle
was hit by a distracted truck driver, injuring two monks. One of them
lost his leg, reducing the group to 18.
This is Pannakara's first trek in the U.S., but he's walked across
several South Asian countries, including a 112-day journey across India
in 2022 where he first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose
name means divine light in Sanskrit.
Then a stray, the dog followed him and other monks from Kolkata in
eastern India all the way to the Nepal border. At one point, he fell
critically ill and Pannakara scooped him up in his arms and cared for
him until he recovered. Now, Aloka inspires him to keep going when he
feels like giving up.
“I named him light because I want him to find the light of wisdom,”
Pannakara said.
The monk's feet are now heavily bandaged because he's stepped on rocks,
nails and glass along the way. His practice of mindfulness keeps him
joyful despite the pain from these injuries, he said.
Still, traversing the southeast United States has presented unique
challenges, and pounding pavement day after day has been brutal.
“In India, we can do shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, but we
can’t do that here because there are a lot of private properties,”
Pannakara said. “But what’s made it beautiful is how people have
welcomed and hosted us in spite of not knowing who we are and what we
believe.”
Churches, families and towns host the monks along their path
In Opelika, Alabama, the Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on
Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation.
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Bhikkhu Pannakara leads other buddhist monks in the, "Walk For
Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison
Joyce)
He expected to see a small crowd, but about 1,000 people showed up,
creating the feel of a block party. The monks seemed like the Magi,
he said, appearing on Christ’s birthday.
“Anyone who is working for peace in the world in a way that is
public and sacrificial is standing close to the heart of Jesus,
whether or not they share our tradition,” said Hitchman-Craig. “I
was blown away by the number of people and the diversity of who
showed up.”
After their night on the church lawn, the monks arrived the next
afternoon at the Collins Farm in Cusseta, Alabama. Judy Collins
Allen, whose father and brother run the farm, said about 200 people
came to meet the monks — the biggest gathering she’s ever witnessed
there.
“There was a calm, warmth and sense of community among people who
had not met each other before and that was so special,” she said.
Monks say peace walks are not a conversion tool
Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the
monks, when they arrive in Washington, plan to seek recognition of
Vesak, the day which marks the birth and enlightenment of the
Buddha, as a national holiday.
“Doing so would acknowledge Vesak as a day of reflection, compassion
and unity for all people regardless of faith,” he said.
But Pannakara emphasized that their main goal is to help people
achieve peace in their lives. The trek is also a separate endeavor
from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the
temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved
in stone, according to Dong.
The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian
technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining
enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing
breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence
and suffering. Some of the monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot
to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment.
Pannakara has told the gathered crowds that they don't aim to
convert people to Buddhism.
Brooke Schedneck, professor of religion at Rhodes College in
Memphis, Tennessee, said the tradition of a peace walk in Theravada
Buddhism began in the 1990s when the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, a
Cambodian monk, led marches across war-torn areas riddled with
landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in
his country.
“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck
said. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired,
not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make
this sacrifice by walking and being visible.”
On Thursday, Becki Gable drove nearly 400 miles (about 640
kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama, to catch up with them in Saluda.
Raised Methodist, Gable said she wanted some release from the pain
of losing her daughter and parents.
“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” she
said. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.”
Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s teachings to
heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she
awakes, she’d take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just
as the monk prescribed.
“Today is my peaceful day.”
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Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.
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