On Wednesday, Buddhist monks marched down the National Mall in Washington and gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to conclude their Walk for Peace.
The journey, a roughly 2,300-mile pilgrimage that began Oct. 26 in Fort Worth, Texas, culminated with calls for mindfulness and kindness as supporters packed the Mall.
Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, who led the group, told the crowd that small choices can change the tone of daily life and urged people to slow down in moments of conflict.
"Ladies and gentlemen, life moves very fast," Pannakara said. "Sometimes, just a few seconds are enough for us to hurt someone, to say words we regret, or to create more pain in a world that is already exhausted."
"But those same few seconds, if we live them well, can become the beginning of peace," he continued. "Today, I do not ask you to think about big ideas. I simply invite you to live five seconds of your life with mindfulness."
Supporters along the Mall held flowers and signs bearing messages such as "Peaceful resistance" and "Mindfulness powers peace."
The group's government liaison and press coordinator, Neeraj Bajracharya, told the crowd that the message was meant to carry beyond the closing ceremony.
"The Walk for Peace is going to continue," Bajracharya said. "Washington, D.C., is not the final stop because the walk towards peace must continue."
Several supporters said they traveled to Washington to see the walkers finish the Washington leg in person.
Tom Haddon and Donna Haddon traveled from Nags Head, North Carolina, and Tom Haddon called the Lincoln Memorial a "fitting place" to end the walk. "We're here because we don't want any more war."
Martha Brettschneider, a supporter from Vienna, Virginia, described the journey as "very inspiring and very hopeful," saying, "It's really a message of hope, and we've got this."
The walk began 109 days earlier, with two dozen monks.
The Associated Press described the walk as a 108-day journey and reported that 19 monks made the 2,300-mile trek.
The monks were expected to arrive in Maryland on Thursday, then board a bus back to Texas, arriving in Fort Worth on Saturday and completing a final 6-mile walk to the point of origin.
Pannakara ended Wednesday's remarks by thanking supporters, local officials, and law enforcement agencies the group encountered, saying, "Thank you so much, and this moment will live with me for the rest of my life."
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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