WASHINGTON — About 19 Buddhist monks from Fort Worth, some barefoot, walked through snow-covered Capitol Hill silently on Wednesday.
Thousands followed behind or lined the streets of Washington while another crowd awaited the monks’ peace ceremony at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the nation’s capital.
From politicians — including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was spotted holding flowers, and Sen. Andy Kim, D-New Jersey — to proud Texans, thousands of people gathered around Capitol Hill to see the monks in person on Feb. 11.
Buddhist monks who are participating in the Walk for Peace hold a peace gathering and concluding ceremony at Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Day 109, Feb. 11, 2026. (Sarah L. Voisin for Fort Worth Report)
Geraldo Garcia, 43, a Houston native who now lives in Alexandria, Virginia, was among those gathered. He said peace is always an option, no matter the circumstances.
“Always find it,” Garcia said. “You can find resilience. You can find strength in it, and that can illuminate and infect others.“
Through social media and personal encounters, the monks, along with loyal pup Aloka, inspired many and gained millions of followers as they journeyed on foot from their Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in east Fort Worth to Washington to promote peace and national healing through reflection and prayer.
The monks will return to Fort Worth on Feb. 14, and invite the public to join them in a homecoming walk from downtown to their east Fort Worth temple.
Buddhist monks who are participating in the Walk for Peace hold a peace gathering and concluding ceremony at Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C. on Day 109, Feb. 11, 2026. (Sarah L. Voisin for Fort Worth Report)
Since leaving their temple in October, the monks’ Walk for Peace initiative amassed 2.8 million followers on Facebook and over 1.3 million followers on TikTok. Aloka has his own Facebook page, with over 1 million followers.
About 2,300-miles after departing Fort Worth, the monks arrived in Washington early on Feb. 10. On Tuesday, thousands of people packed an American University arena and then gathered outside the Washington National Cathedral to catch a glimpse of the venerable trekkers.
Waiting for the monks to pass by on Wednesday was Drew Masada, 42, who lives in Maryland but is from Austin. Masada said he appreciated the monks’ journey and the positivity their Walk for Peace has delivered along the way.
“I think unhappy people make unhappy decisions. Happier people, more peaceful people, try to do the opposite,” Masada said.
Many shouted words of thanks to the monks as they walked toward the Lincoln Memorial.
Aloka is pictured. Buddhist monks who are participating in the Walk for Peace hold a peace gathering and concluding ceremony at Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C. on Day 109, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Sarah L. Voisin for Fort Worth Report)
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, “Walk for Peace,” hold a peace gathering and concluding ceremony at Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C. on Day 109, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Sarah L. Voisin for Fort Worth Report)
Bhikkhu Pannakara, vice president of the temple, took to the podium to thank the churches, law enforcement officers and others who volunteered their resources or time in supporting the monks’ journey.
Sometimes, all it takes is a few seconds to hurt someone, Pannakara said. Instead, he encouraged attendees to use those seconds for the “the beginning of peace.”
“Today, I do not ask you to think about big ideas. I simply invite you to live five seconds of your life with mindfulness,” Pannakara said.
Walk for Peace will continue Feb. 12 in Maryland, where the monks will walk from the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to Maryland State Capitol, officials announced on the monks’ Facebook page. They will board a bus Thursday afternoon and head back to Texas.
Buddhist monks who are participating in the Walk for Peace, hold a peace gathering and concluding ceremony at Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Day 109, Feb. 11, 2026. (Sarah L. Voisin for Fort Worth Report)
Monks return to Fort Worth on Valentines Day
The monks are expected to arrive at the Fort Worth Water Gardens at 8 a.m. on Feb. 14.
The group will participate in a homecoming walk from the gardens back to the temple in the city’s Historic Stop Six neighborhood.
Around 10:30 a.m., the temple will offer lunch to the monks and those in attendance. The monks will gather for final reflections at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Details on the route will be posted on the Walk for Peace Facebook and Live Map, officials said.
If you go
What: Walk for Peace homecoming walk
Where: Fort Worth Water Gardens, 1502 Commerce St.
Time: 8 a.m.
Date: Feb. 14
The monk’s Fort Worth walk on Feb. 14 will conclude at Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center, located at 4717 E. Rosedale St.
The monks are expected to go south on Commerce Street from the Water Gardens, go east on Vickery Boulevard and have a brief stop at Sycamore Park.
Then, they will continue east on Vickery Boulevard and go south on South Ayers Avenue, a spokesperson for Fort Worth’s Public Events Department said.
Buddhists, Walk for Peace fans acknowledge impact
Bhikkhu Bodhi, a prominent American Buddhist monk from New York City, told the crowd before the Lincoln Memorial that the Walk for Peace is “one of the most important events to take place” in the U.S. in the 21st century.
“It seems to me that this Walk for Peace has brought out the greatest quality of the American character,” Bodhi said. “All people are created equal,” he continued, referencing Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
Casey Brand, 53, and her husband brought her mother to the ceremony for her mother’s birthday. Seeing the monks was on her mom’s bucket list. Brand is an interior designer who lived in Houston for 20 years and recently moved to Santa Barbara.
“I don’t think people would ever put monks and Texas together,” Brand said. “There was some serious pride in that.”
“There was this moment between genuine peace and then a little bit of anticipation,” Brand said. “The whole reason they’re doing this is because there’s a little unease in our nation. As soon as … they were getting closer, everything just sort of went away.”
The family came to the nation’s capital only for the monks. They fly out tomorrow morning.
Buddhist monks who are participating in the “Walk for Peace” hold a peace gathering and concluding ceremony at Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Day 109, Feb. 11, 2026. (Sarah L. Voisin for Fort Worth Report)
Alysa Horton is a reporter for the Cronkite News, produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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.
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.
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