A group of 24 Buddhist monks started a 2,300 mile walking journey on October 26th, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. Their goal is to arrive in Washington, D.C., some time in February.
The monks average twenty to thirty miles a day, and they walk every day. To me, that seems astounding. I’ve been on a variety of peace walks, which I’ve described in this blog, but the groups that I walk with average about fifteen miles per day. And, for me, that’s more than sufficient. The monks are determined. Despite injuries and sore feet and exhaustion, they keep walking. One monk, however, had to leave the walk when he was injured so badly that his leg had to be amputated. His name is Bhante Dam Phommasan, and he is in good spirits back in his home community in Georgia.
In 2024, a different group of monks walked from Key West, Florida, to Niagara Falls, New York. I had the chance to meet them, take their pictures, and write an article about their walk for the Island Dispatch. I saw them as they walked off the bridge that connects Grand Island to Tonawanda, New York, just north of Buffalo. I saw them at the Turtle, designed to be the Native American Center for the Living Arts. There is a push underway to revive the Turtle, which has been dormant for a number of years. The monks said, when the Turtle is brought back to its original purpose, they will return to bless it.
The monks walk for peace and for compassion, which is a wonderful thing in a time and a place with little peace and compassion. The images below are fond remembrances of the 2024 walk.
I wish you joy and peace and compassion. And I wish for these things to grow and blossom, even in the most inhospitable of places.
I, too, have been following their journey! So inspiring!
It’s been so incredible!!!