Since October 2025, a group of 19 Buddhist monks — and their beloved canine companion, Aloka — have been on a 2,300-mile trek across the United States, calling for peace.
They began their “Walk for Peace” in Fort Worth, Texas, with a final destination of Washington, D.C. After 109 days, they arrived at the nation’s capital.
Shortly after crossing the bridge into D.C., the monks made their way to the Washington National Cathedral for an interfaith service led by Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde and The Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith.
The cathedral live-streamed the event and called it “A Sacred Stop on the Walk for Peace.”
“We are honored to welcome these ambassadors for peace who have traveled so far to be with us,” Hollerith began the service. “I want to welcome, as well, so many of the interfaith leaders from all the religions in the Washington D.C. area who have gathered together … for the sake and in the name of peace.”
In addition to the local interfaith service, the monks also invited all venerable monks and nuns of various faiths to make their own pilgrimage to D.C. to conclude the Walk for Peace.
After a brief moment of silence and ringing the cathedral bell, Rev. Budde stepped up to lead a prayer.
“Lord, make us instruments of your peace,” she began. “Where there is hatred, let us love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is discord, union. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy.”
“Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal.”
Rev. Budde is an Episcopal prelate who has served as Bishop of Washington since 2011. She is the first female bishop of the diocese and has been a vocal supporter of peace and human rights throughout her leadership.
Last year, she made headlines when she delivered a sermon during President Donald J. Trump’s inaugural service, making a plea for the newly-sworn-in president to “have mercy” on immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community.
“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President,” she said in a clip, which quickly went viral following the inauguration. “Millions have put their trust in you. And as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”
In her full sermon, she went into greater detail.
“There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families, some who fear for their lives. And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat-packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants, and work the night shifts in hospitals — they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,” she said.
“I ask you, Mr. President, to have mercy on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away; and that to help those fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.”
It’s poetic, then, that Rev. Budde joined the 19 venerable monks as they called for peace, just over a year after Trump began his second term, one categorized by violent immigration raids and ongoing threats to the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans.
But Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the leader of the Walk for Peace, believes that healing can be found within all people, especially during a time of division and hardship.
“Peace is something that we've been looking for for so long. Peace is something that we are seeking for so many years, and yet we still not find it. We cannot find it,” he said in a brief address outside the cathedral on Tuesday.
“It's been with us. It never left us. It's just that we cannot see it. You have locked it and put them in the box and you have left it somewhere. You forgotten it.”
He added that the Walk for Peace was not about bringing that peace to people across the country, but inviting them to find it within themselves.
“We are not walking from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington D.C. to bring you any peace, but to raise the awareness of peace so that you can unlock that box and free it. Let peace bloom and flourish among all of us, throughout this nation and the world, so that this world can become a better place for all beings to live.”
He then led the attendees in a moment of mindfulness, asking them to place a hand on their hearts and take a few deep breaths.
After another speech from another monk in the group, and a musical performance, some interfaith attendees headed inside for a short Q&A session with the monks.
“It is such a privilege for us to gather in a spirit of humility and the opportunity to learn from one another,” Rev. Budde said. “Thank you for gracing us with the power of your message and your teachings.”
After the gathering, the monks shared their own reflections on social media, too.
“To be received with such grace, generosity, and open hearts in this sacred space meant everything to us. Thousands gathered together — in person and in spirit — united in the spirit of peace across all traditions and backgrounds,” they wrote.
“Thank you to the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde and the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith for your leadership, your vision, and your commitment to bringing people together for peace. Thank you to Washington National Cathedral for opening your doors and your hearts to this mission. This was a moment we will carry in our hearts forever.”
The venerable monks will soon deliver their final address to the nation during their last day in D.C., which is available to stream online beginning at 2:30 p.m. EST on February 11, 2026.
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Header images courtesy of Walk for Peace and Washington National Cathedral
