Buddhist monks and their rescue dog have been walking single file across the U.S. South, a peace-focused trek that 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 plan to ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday.
Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s leader who is making the trek barefoot, has said the walk is meant to encourage mindfulness and peace among the people they meet. “My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” he said, describing his role at each stop as teaching on mindfulness, forgiveness and healing.
The monks’ journey has drawn crowds that gather outside churches, at city buildings and in town squares across multiple states. Their message has also been shared online as they document the trek on social media, along with the dog they travel with, Aloka, whose name Pannakara has said means divine light in Sanskrit. The trek spans about 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers), and it began with 19 monks from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.
The journey has also included injuries and setbacks. On Nov. 19, the monks’ escort vehicle was hit by a distracted truck driver while they were walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas. Two monks were injured, one lost his leg, and the group was reduced to 18.
On Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce drove about four hours from Little River to join the crowd on Main Street and said she describes herself as spiritual but not religious. “There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our country every day,” Pearce said, and she added: “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace.” She said Pannakara handed her a flower, and she described the monks’ physical suffering as contrasting with the calm she said she saw in them.
Earlier in their route, the monks drew a large gathering in Columbia, South Carolina. On Saturday, thousands thronged onto the steps of the State House for chanting, and they received a proclamation from Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, according to the report.
The monks’ stops have ranged from churches to farms. In Opelika, Alabama, Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation after expecting a smaller crowd; he said about 1,000 people showed up. “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,” Hitchman-Craig said. The next afternoon in Cusseta, Alabama, the monks arrived at the Collins Farm, where Judy Collins Allen said about 200 people came to meet them.
While promoting peace, the monks have said they are not using the walk as a conversion effort. Pannakara has told gathered crowds that they do not aim to convert people to Buddhism. The report describes their focus as Vipassana meditation, an approach that centers on the mind-body connection—observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering. Some monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot as part of that practice.
Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the monks plan to seek national recognition for Vesak when they arrive in Washington, D.C. Dong also said recognizing Vesak would acknowledge it “as a day of reflection, compassion and unity for all people regardless of faith.” He added that the trek is separate 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, the report said.
Academic context for the tradition was provided by Brooke Schedneck, a professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. Schedneck said peace walks in Theravada Buddhism began in the 1990s when Venerable Maha Ghosananda led marches across war-torn areas riddled with landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in Cambodia. “These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck said. She added: “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.”
The walk has also taken a physical toll on the monks. Pannakara’s feet are heavily bandaged after he said he stepped on rocks, nails and glass, and he has said mindfulness keeps him joyful despite pain from injuries. He also said that in India people can take shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, while in the U.S. there are many private properties, even as he described being welcomed and hosted by people along the route.
At their latest stop mentioned in the report, Becki Gable, raised Methodist, described coming to Saluda after driving nearly 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama. Gable said she wanted release from the pain of losing her daughter and parents and that she felt in her heart that the monks’ presence would help her have peace. “I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” Gable said, adding that it could help her move forward in her life. She said she has already taken one teaching to heart and promised herself that each morning she would write five words: “Today is my peaceful day.”
Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.
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