WASHINGTON — A group of Buddhist monks bearing a message of peace walked into the heart of Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, greeted by large, joyful crowds as they completed their 15-week trek from Texas.
The monks became fixtures on social media as they made their way through the southeastern United States. Their simple mission to advocate for peace has resonated across a beleaguered country and appeared especially welcome in a city at the center of political strife and power.
The walk for peace began in late October, with about 20 Buddhist monks walking from the Fort Worth, Texas area across the Deep South to Washington D.C. They braved the cold and walked past millions of Americans who came out to the streets to admire their long journey to the nation's capital.
WATCH: Thousands Join monks Walk for Peace in Richmond
The Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara said the idea for this walk came from witnessing widespread suffering during the pandemic. His foundation, Huong Tu Loving Kindness Foundation, provided food to 750 families per week for two years straight in Fort Worth alone.
"I've seen a lot of sufferings around me. In Fort Worth alone, during the pandemic, there's a lot of people suffer," Pannakara told CBS News' Ed O'Keefe. "I have faced a lot of people, with people who come to the temple to seek for help. And I seen so much suffering."
Through disaster relief work in different countries, Pannakara kept asking himself what he could do to help. The Walk for Peace emerged as his answer.
"Obviously, the walk is the only way to raise awareness because we are practicing while we walk. Mindfulness is the key to show people that peace is something that is possible and always begins from within," Pannakara said. "So when we walk, people see us, they can pause, they can stop doing everything, and they look back within."
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PHOTOS: Buddhist monks on Walk for Peace trek across Virginia
Amid all the violence and rancor in the world, Pannakara believes peace can still be achieved.
"It is possible, like these days, from Texas to here. I always say that peace has begun, has bloomed, because everywhere we go now, people just lining up on the street and gathering to support this mission and to walk with us in spirit, millions of people now, not just 1000 or 100,000, millions and millions of people," Pannakara said.
Pannakara shares a simple daily practice with those he meets: write down "today is going to be my peaceful day" each morning.
"In the morning, when we wake up, just get a paper and a pen write down today is going to be my peaceful day," Pannakara said.
Pannakara said he and his fellow monks are considering future walks for peace, especially because they have seen how inspiring the walk has been.
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