For about 2 months, about 20 Buddhist monks have been walking to the U.S. Capitol as part of the Walk for Peace. Led by The Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the monks have marched through several southern states, gathering crowds of up to thousands of people. The 120-day pilgrimage began on October 26 at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas. They are scheduled to arrive at their final destination, Washington, D.C., on February 16, 2026, having completed a 2,300-mile trek.
The primary objective of this movement is to promote peace, unity, and compassion. In the current era, when some feel these values are lost, many appreciate the positive sentiment these Buddhist monks promote.
The monks arrived in Georgia after Christmas, making stops in Trilith, Morrow, Decatur, Snellville, and more. The monks are accompanied by their rescue dog, Aloka, whose name roughly translates to ‘spiritual enlightenment’ in Sanskrit.
On day 66, they arrived in downtown Decatur to a crowd of more than a hundred people. The gathering, initially scheduled for 2:30, was pushed back to 5:00 pm, but despite the 3-hour delay, residents were ecstatic to greet the monks as they marched through the city.
Kayla Peltier, a student at Alabama State University, waited for the monks in Decatur, wanting to contribute supplies, but by then the monks had stopped accepting donations because their escort van was overflowing with handouts from supporters. “So at that point, I just wanted to go cheer them on and be part of the historic event somehow, and hear their words at the peace gathering,” Peltier said. “The walk itself brought me nothing but hopeful feelings of peace because I know the reason behind what they’re doing.”
The Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara opened the ceremony with kind words, “If you look around here, you will see [such a] diverse community around here, and yet we are all standing together in unity. That makes me heal. That peace brings its way through unity and diversity.”
He continued, “Peace begins with intention, continues with action; sustained by compassion and loving kindness.”
Also in attendance were various Georgia politicians, such as DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson and Senator Raphael Warnock.
“We could certainly use a lot more kindness,” Warnock spoke, showing his own gratitude to the monks. He acknowledged the greater scope of the monks’ walk, pleading for peace not only in America but in Israel, Gaza, Haiti, Ukraine, and the Congo.
In November, while walking through Houston, Texas, a car slammed into the monks’ escort van, which then struck senior monk Phra-Ajarnh Maha Dam Phommasan. He was rushed to the hospital, where he tragically learned that he had lost his left leg. 
“At the moment when I was hit, I felt myself sliding across the ground. But with Buddhist belief, we believe that when we are conscious of our awareness, when we are about to die, it eliminates the chance of us going to hell, and gives us a more direct route into heaven and nirvana,” Phommasan told Atlanta News First.
After more than a month in the hospital, the Snellville, Georgia native was visited by the remaining monks when they stopped to see him at Wat Lao Buddha Khanti temple. Although Phommasan can no longer participate in the walk, he plans to meet his fellow monks in Washington, D.C., once the journey is complete.
Abdul Yusuf, 18, has been following the monk’s journey and even tried to see them as they passed through Morrow, Georgia. When asked to describe their movement using only one word, he chose, “Powerful. You gotta have a different type of strength to even do what they’re doing, so the fact that they’re doing that and trying to spread their messages … I think that’s powerful, and a lot of people can see it as that.”
Peltier expressed her predictions on the future success of the movement, saying, “I think the walk has done a great job of bringing people together and being a brief moment of peace, but if it were to have an impact or change, I still don’t think it would be long-term at all.”
Like Peltier, Georgia State University student Gad Nkurunziza questions the movement’s enduring success, claiming that the younger generation is too unserious and that people are more focused on social media than on the walk’s deeper message.
“The change starts from young people, but if they are not taking action, nothing will happen. If people actually came together and took the time, it could be successful, but for me, honestly, I don’t think it’s gonna be successful,” Nkurunziza stated. He also mentioned the overwhelming amount of social media attention the monks’ walk has received, accusing many people of using it to gain internet fame or clout.
“They don’t post anything because they care; they post because it will catch people’s attention and will get them famous.”
When the monks visited Morrow, Georgia, on Sunday, they were overwhelmed by the vast, chaotic crowd, with people invading their personal space to record, walking between their line, and shouting as they passed by. At the gathering in Snellville, the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara addressed everyone, pleading for more respect from onlookers. He requested that no YouTubers be present and that nobody livestream their walks. He asked that people be quiet to support their mindful silence vows and not walk alongside them.
“We don’t want this to become something that people chase after,” Pannakara said.
