Four months ago, 19 Buddhist monks trekked quietly out of their east Fort Worth temple with one goal in mind: to walk for peace.
Many knew nothing about the monks — or their loyal pup Aloka — in those early days. But over the 2,300-mile journey to Washington, D.C., on foot to promote peace and national healing, their 110-day expedition captivated millions.
They faced peril along the way. One monk’s leg was amputated after a car collision. Aloka had to have surgery following an injury. And below-freezing temperatures lingered over the last weeks of their walk.
Now, on Valentine’s Day, the monks are coming home.
If you go:
What: Walk for Peace homecoming
Time: 8 a.m.
When: Feb. 14
Where: Eastover Park, 4300 Ramey Ave., Fort Worth
The monks will walk from the park to the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center at 4717 E. Rosedale St.
“Everybody is looking for peace, happiness and what the monks did is great. Walking like that takes so much sacrifice,” said Rakshya Thaba, 46, of Southlake.
Thaba, who is Hindu but also practices Buddhist meditation, arrived at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in east Fort Worth early Saturday morning to be part of the homecoming festivities.
The monks’ Walk for Peace captivated the nation because “everybody eventually wants peace,” she said.
The monks arrived in Washington, D.C., early on Feb. 10 with thousands of people packing an American University arena and then gathering outside the Washington National Cathedral to catch a glimpse of them.
A similar turnout followed the monks to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for their peace ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial.
Their homecoming walk will begin at Eastover Park, at 4300 Ramey Ave., Saturday morning and consist of a roughly mile-long walk to the temple in the Historic Stop Six neighborhood.
Their homecoming walk will begin at Eastover Park, at 4300 Ramey Ave., Saturday morning and consist of a roughly mile-long walk to the temple in the Historic Stop Six neighborhood.
People began lining up along the park Ramey Avenue before sunrise awaiting their arrival.
By 8 a.m., dozens were celebrating in the park as some passed out stickers commemorating the monks and Aloka.
Fort Worth resident Lena Luangraj, 58, arrived at the park with eight friends from work who share her Buddhist faith. The group carried bouquets of flowers to hand to the monks during their walk home.
Luangraj has followed the monks’ walk since it started in Fort Worth. She said she wasn’t surprised to see them gain viral fame, but she’s hopeful their message of peace helps heal “suffering” across the country.
“If you don’t have peace in your heart, you won’t have peace in your world,” she said.Dozens of people began lining up along the park aRamey Ave
The start of the walk was previously anticipated to take place at the Fort Worth Water Gardens but changed due to rain forecasted for Saturday.
They are expected to have lunch at the temple and host a peace gathering for the public in celebration of the completed journey.
The Walk for Peace’s origins in east Fort Worth
The monks announced their Walk for Peace initiative at an Oct. 19 press conference at the temple. At the time, attendees mainly included the temple’s youth association, members of Texas’ Nepalese Buddhist Association and a few local and state officials.
The trekkers took the first steps of their journey Oct. 26. Stop Six residents paused outside their homes to watch the group walk by. Some cars stopped alongside the monks so occupants could take a photo or video.
The number of people captivated by the monks grew exponentially as the Walk for Peace initiative amassed 2.8 million followers on Facebook and over 1.3 million followers on TikTok.
Aloka became a popular pup with over 1 million following his Facebook page.
Social media posts from across the country have shown hundreds or thousands of supporters standing or kneeling along roads waiting for the monks to pass, often holding flowers or signs with words of encouragement. Many who showed up to greet them then followed along behind them for a portion of the walk.
Children and adults offered the monks gifts, such as flowers, fruit or even lip balm as they walked through the bitter winter cold.
The monks bestowed blessing cords to some they encountered along the way. Local law enforcement recognized their efforts by presenting badges to Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara.
The Walk for Peace is not a parade, protest or ceremony of faith, Pannakara said before the group left Fort Worth. It is “a journey to bring blessings to countless lives in a world filled with uncertainty and restlessness.”
Early into the journey, a traffic collision outside Houston in November injured some of the walkers and resulted in a leg amputation for one monk.
The weather was often unkind. They recently braved snow and ice in the Carolinas and Virginia, following a massive winter storm in late January that hit Texas and many states on the eastern side of the country.
Aloka, 4, underwent surgery for an injury to one of his legs in January. Today, the tan and white pooch is seen in social media videos walking, resting in a vehicle or sharing a moment with one of the monks.
The Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center has been in Fort Worth for more than 26 years. The temple serves a predominantly Vietnamese-American community that follows the Buddhist faith.
The center is the future site of the $200 million Dhammacetiya Project, which is 14-acres that will feature 840 stupas, or shrines, each engraved with sacred scriptures representing the Buddha’s wisdom and compassion. The project was announced in 2022, and the temple kicked off the expansion in May.
Buddhist monks dedicate their lives to practicing and sharing Buddha’s teachings through meditation, study and service. Following Buddha’s example, monks often undertake walking pilgrimages that can last for months.
At Eastover Park, Fort Worth resident Gladys Perales, 49, awaited their arrival with a friend from her Catholic church. Some of her other Catholic friends were “questioning” whether to come because of their religion, but Perales said she didn’t hesitate.
“I think everybody agrees that it doesn’t matter as long as we’re all here for peace, and that’s the message,” Perales said.
That message was one Diamond Yonvadisi, 55, and her fiance Raad Algatrani, 57, needed as they made their way to the east Fort Worth temple.
Yonvadisi, who is from Sevierville, Tennessee, is in North Texas to visit her brother in Denton, she said. He is diagnosed with bone cancer and is under hospice care, she said. Tomorrow will be the last time they say goodbye, she added.
“I needed this,” Yonvadisi said. “I needed to be here to get a little bit of peace.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Maria Crane is a multimedia journalist for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at maria.crane@fortworthreport.org.
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
Christine Vo is an audience fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at christine@fortworthreport.org or @trinhvchristine.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Great Job Marissa Greene, Maria Crane, Christine Vo, Cecilia Lenzen and David Moreno & the Team @ Fort Worth Report for sharing this story.
