Monks continue trek to Washington after Texas crash
A group of Buddhist monks is continuing a walking trek across much of the U.S. to promote peace toward Washington, D.C., after two of its members were injured when a truck hit their escort vehicle in Texas.
The monks, part of a group of about two dozen, started their walk in Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 26 and have continued through multiple states. The group said it has made it to Georgia and plans to keep walking toward the capital.
Marking day 66 of the trek, the group planned to walk its latest segment through Georgia on Tuesday from the town of Morrow to Decatur, on the eastern edge of Atlanta. The group also invited the public to a Peace Gathering in Decatur Tuesday afternoon.
The monks and their dog, Aloka, are traveling through 10 states en route to Washington, D.C., the group said. In coming days, they plan to pass through or very close to Athens, Georgia; the North Carolina cities of Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh; and Richmond, Virginia.
Updates and growing social-media audience
The group has amassed a large audience online, with more than 400,000 followers on Facebook. The monks’ Facebook page is frequently updated with progress reports, inspirational notes and poetry.
Aloka, named after a Sanskrit word meaning enlightenment, has its own hashtag, #AlokathePeaceDog, and the group has highlighted the dog as part of the trek’s public-facing presence.
In a recent post, the group wrote, “We do not walk alone. We walk together with every person whose heart has opened to peace, whose spirit has chosen kindness, whose daily life has become a garden where understanding grows.”
Injuries after truck crash on Texas highway
The trek has not been without danger. Last month outside Houston, the monks were walking on the side of a highway near Dayton, Texas, when their escort vehicle—its hazard lights on—was hit by a truck.
Dayton Interim Police Chief Shane Burleigh said the truck “didn’t notice how slow the vehicle was going, tried to make an evasive maneuver to drive around the vehicle, and didn’t do it in time.” He said the truck “struck the escort vehicle in the rear left, pushed the escort into two of the monks.”
Burleigh said one of the monks had “substantial leg injuries” and was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Houston. He said the other monk, who had less serious injuries, was taken by ambulance to another hospital in suburban Houston.
A spokeswoman for the group said the monk with the serious leg injuries was expected to have a series of surgeries to heal a broken bone, but that his prognosis for recovery was good.
Buddhism’s tradition of non-violence and peace activism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy that evolved from the teachings of Gautama Buddha, a prince turned teacher believed to have lived in northern India and attained enlightenment between the 6th and 4th centuries B.C., according to the article. It spread to other parts of Asia after Buddha’s death and came to the West in the 20th century.
The article also said Buddhism teaches that the path to end suffering and be liberated from the cycle of birth, death and reincarnation includes non-violence, mental discipline through meditation, and compassion for all beings.
It added that, while Buddhism has branched into a number of sects over the centuries, its tradition of peace activism continues. It cited figures such as the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, saying they have applied principles of compassion and non-violence to political, environmental and social justice and to peace-building efforts around the world.