Walk for Peace Buddhist monks arrive in Fort Worth for homecoming celebration

From Fort Worth Report:

Returning to their east Fort Worth temple, the Buddhist monks who walked cross-country for peace were welcomed with rose petals, traditional lion dances and chants by hundreds of well-wishers who followed their 2,300-mile journey.

Four months ago, 19 Buddhist monks trekked quietly out of their Historic Stop Six 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 110 days, the expedition to Washington on foot to promote national healing 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 home.

Hundreds lined Ramey Avenue as their bus pulled into the Historic Stop Six neighborhood, many carrying flowers and waving signs with messages of peace. Cheers erupted as they emerged — many calling out to Aloka— and walked through the crowd at Eastover Park.

The monks stood side-by-side as Bhikkhu Pannakara, the temple’s vice president leading the group, briefly addressed those gathered before beginning their walk to the temple.

“Thank you for coming. It’s a very warm welcome for us,” said Pannakara, who also goes by Rev. Nguyen.

As the group made its way to the center, many shouted, “Thank you!” as the monks passed. Some handed them flowers.

Arriving at the temple just before the rain began, Pannakara bowed in reverence at the feet of his teacher, the Venerable Ratanaguna. The abbott of the temple, Ratanaguna did not walk on the journey but helped guide the monks along the way with his presence, according to the group’s Facebook page.

After the monks gathered inside the temple Saturday morning, they sat in front of the Buddha shrine as Ratanaguna took to the podium to express his thanks to law enforcement, city officials and places of worship that offered the monks’ food and a place to rest along the way.

“Without your support, it wouldn’t be possible,” he said.

Ratanaguna also expressed his gratitude to the veterinarians who took care of Aloka, who is recovering from surgery but was well enough to walk with the monks through Fort Worth on Saturday.

Pannakara then addressed those gathered at the center.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this but I love you all,” Pannakara said. “This is what we need in the world.”

Through humor, charisma and a heartfelt message, Pannakara shared his message as the rain began to pour.

He asked the audience to join him in reciting the message he has been sharing every step of the way: “Today is going to be my peaceful day.”

People began gathering along the trekkers’ Fort Worth route before sunrise, some passed out stickers commemorating the monks and their pup.

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.

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.

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.

Police escorted the monks on their roughly mile-long walk to the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center.

Visitors from across the country came to Fort Worth for their homecoming.

Thy-Thy Carlton, 50, and daughter McKenzie, 12, came from the Houston suburb of Conroe to pass out flowers and Walk for Peace-themed stickers.

They didn’t know about the monks’ walk until the group left Houston in November, Carlton said, so they wanted to see them come home. Their walk taught McKenzie to “focus on the good,” she said.

“Be positive, and do one act of kindness every day,” Carlton added.

Volunteers spent the morning readying the center for the day’s festivities, running in and out of the temple to prepare food or rehearse their greetings ahead of the arrival.

Some attendees shared a cup of chai or took pictures at one of the photo booths decorated for Lunar New Year in anticipation of the monks’ return.

Sitting outside the entrance of the temple at 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning was Karen Cal Wright, 73, from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Wright, who lives with a disability, decided to wait for the monks’ arrival at the temple while her partner walked with them from Eastover Park. The couple volunteered to provide food for Saturday’s festivities.

In Wright’s lap was a basket with small bags of chocolates to give out along with a Valentine’s Day message like “be strong” and “people matter.”

“What I want to do is act for the life of people and the world around me,” Wright said. “I thought this was a good action to take.”

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.

Earline Robinson, 65, lives in east Fort Worth and is familiar with the monks from their weekly walks through her neighborhood. She doesn’t use social media and had no idea the trekkers had earned celebrity status, she said.

Learning why South Edgewood Terrace was full of cars and well-wishers Saturday morning, she smiled broadly and said, “Good.”

Standing on her front porch, she held flowers from a passerby and called out “hello” and “peace” as the final few people trickled by her lifelong home.

“It lets you know that people still care about people,” Robinson said. “They’re not worried about politics or religion, they just care about human beings like all of us.”