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Buddhist monks visit Washington National Cathedral as their 2,300-mile journey ends

February 11, 2026

[Episcopal News Service] The Buddhist monks whose Walk for Peace began on Oct. 26, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas, and has drawn attention from people across the U.S., spent time at Washington National Cathedral in the District of Columbia on Feb. 10. The visit to the cathedral, billed as “A Sacred Stop on the Walk for Peace,” was one of their final stops on a 2,300-mile journey through nine states before the walk’s end on Feb. 11. The 19 monks came from Buddhist monasteries worldwide to make the walk, according to the Associated Press. They began at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, where the group’s leader, the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, is vice president. The final stages of their walk to the cathedral were livestreamed on the Walk for Peace Facebook page, which showed large crowds lining snowy Washington streets to watch the monks walk single file, with law enforcement officers keeping a lane open for them. The monks were joined by Aloka, a rescue dog who accompanied them throughout their trek. On the building’s steps, they were greeted by Washington Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde and the Very Rev. Randy Hollerith, the cathedral’s dean. They were also joined by more than 100 Buddhist monks and nuns, all clad in orange robes, as well as area faith leaders, as the cathedral livestreamed the event. Hollerith said he was honored to welcome the monks, whom he called “ambassadors for peace who have traveled so far to be with us,” as well as faith leaders from across the city. He then paused while the cathedral’s largest bell was rung “in honor of all of those who have given their lives in the search for peace.” Budde read a prayer attributed to St. Francis, beginning with, “Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Aloka the Peace Dog (@alokathepeacedog) Calling the event “overwhelming” and something he would remember for the rest of his life, Pannakara noted the gathered faith leaders were “here together for the same mission – peace.” He added, “This is the first time that we are working together, we are walking together on this path to find peace for ourselves, to share that with our nation and the world.” He emphasized that he and the other monks didn’t walk to bring peace, but rather to help people understand that peace already exists but is often overlooked. “It never left us. It’s just that we cannot see it. You have locked it and put it in a box, and you have left it somewhere. You’ve forgotten it,” he said. To find that peace, people first need to calm what he called their “monkey mind,” which will “jump here and there, go here and there, grab this and that.” The antidote is a practice of mindfulness that he said starts with ignoring your phone first thing in the morning. “Every time when you touch your phone, your mind starts wandering,” he said. “So don’t touch your phone in the morning when you wake up. Instead, make your bed nice and neat. Go to the bathroom — still no phone.” The next step is to take a pen and a piece of paper and write, “Today is going to be my peaceful day.” Writing it down is important, he said, because “when your hand is pairing with your mind, it makes a big difference.” He then told listeners to say the phrase out loud several times as a reminder to live each day with peace and not anger, because anger makes people unhappy, he said, which is a form of suffering, while reacting with kindness brings peace. The monks are part of a Vietnamese Theravada Buddhist tradition and practice Vipassana meditation – a technique taught by the Buddha in ancient India to focus on the mind-body connection, according to Religion News Service. The hundreds of people who had gathered outside to meet the monks then entered the cathedral, filling its seats in what Hollerith said was “one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in this space” during his 10 years as dean. Budde thanked the monks and faith leaders, whom she called “our interfaith friends and siblings of one human family,” and said it was a privilege “to gather in a spirit of humility” with the opportunity to learn from each other. After a question-and-answer period, Budde and Hollerith presented Pannakara with pins representing the Diocese of Washington and the cathedral, which they added to a shawl worn over his left shoulder that is filled with pins from places along the walk. Later on Feb. 10, the monks spoke at George Washington University. On Feb. 11, the walk’s 109th and final day, they were scheduled to speak at the city’s Peace Monument and have lunch at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church near Capitol Hill. — Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.