Buddhist Monks Walking 2,300 Miles From Fort Worth to Washington

Twenty-four Buddhist monks left Fort Worth on October 26 with a plan to walk 2,300 miles to Washington, D.C. in 120 days. They're covering roughly nineteen miles daily through ten states. Sixty-six days in, they're crossing Georgia with a dog named Aloka.

The Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center organized the pilgrimage to promote peace, kindness, and mindfulness. The monks characterize their walk as spiritual rather than political. Communities along the route receive invitations to join at designated gathering points.

The route cuts through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Houston welcomed them at Hong Kong City Mall on November 14. Decatur hosted a peace gathering on December 29. Upcoming stops include Athens, Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Richmond before they reach Washington in late February.

Near Dayton, Texas, a truck struck their escort vehicle. The driver attempted to maneuver around the slow-moving vehicle and hit the rear left side. Two monks sustained injuries. One required helicopter transport to a Houston hospital for leg trauma and surgeries to repair a broken bone. The second monk went by ambulance to a different facility with less severe injuries. Both stabilized.

The remaining monks continued walking after the accident. They maintained their daily mileage and schedule toward Washington.

Buddhism has a documented history of peace activism through figures like the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, who applied non-violence principles to political and social justice movements. The monks walk, chant, and invite participation from anyone willing to join for any distance.

The pilgrimage has accumulated over 400,000 followers on social media. The monks post updates throughout the journey. They describe walking together with anyone whose heart has opened to peace, whose spirit has chosen kindness, whose daily life has become a garden where understanding grows.

Aloka accompanies the monks through varying terrain and weather conditions, covering the same daily mileage from Texas through Georgia.

The monks will arrive in Washington during the third week of February, when temperatures regularly drop below freezing. They will have walked from Fort Worth through the American South during fall and winter, passing through communities that either participated in gatherings or remained unaware of their presence.

The pilgrimage represents a physical manifestation of Buddhist peace activism principles. Walking 2,300 miles in 120 days requires sustained physical endurance and organizational coordination across multiple states with varying levels of community engagement and infrastructure support.

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