After walking more than 2,300 miles for peace, a group of Buddhist monks are preparing to return to Fort Worth, and they are inviting the public to join them as they take their final steps.
The group started the walk to Washington, D.C. on Oct. 26 at the Hương Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth. About two dozen monks set out to promote peace through their journey, and along the way, the monks have picked up 2.6 million followers on Facebook and 1.2 million followers on TikTok.
When the walk is completed, the monks will depart Washington by bus on Feb. 12 and arrive in downtown Fort Worth around 8 a.m. on Feb. 14, the group said in a social media post.
From there, they will walk the six miles back to where the journey began. Once they arrive at the Hương Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center, there will be a peace celebration to commemorate the journey.
The group has been providing frequent updates on Facebook, where they show crowds of people lining the roads to meet the monks. The group is joined by their loyal dog, Aloka, who is named after a Sanskrit word meaning enlightenment.
“We would be deeply honored to have you walk with us on this final homecoming walk and to share in the joy and gratitude of returning home,” the post reads.
The exact starting location will be named closer to the date of the event, the monks said.