In a powerful display of endurance and loving-kindness, 19 Theravada Buddhist monks who captivated the nation during their 2,300-mile cross-country Walk for Peace arrived at American University on Tuesday, February 10. Clad in saffron and maroon robes, the monks filed into a hushed Bender Arena to mark the end of their 108-day journey with an emotional ceremony centered on the internal nature of peace and the practical application of mindfulness. 

The morning began just 90 minutes earlier as the monks, flanked by police escorts and a growing tide of supporters, crossed the Chain Bridge from Arlington, Virginia, into the District. It was the final leg of a pilgrimage for unity, compassion, and global healing that took the monks—who hail from monasteries around the world—through nine states and three months of grueling weather. 

As they entered the arena, several thousand members of the AU and Washington, DC, communities stood in quiet reverence, witnessing the culmination of a journey that began in the heart of Texas and ended in the soul of the nation’s capital.

AU president Jon Alger welcomed the group by invoking the legacy of President John F. Kennedy, who stood on campus 63 years earlier to deliver his historic “A Strategy of Peace” commencement address. Alger reminded the audience of Kennedy’s enduring definition of the mission: that genuine peace is not a mere legal abstraction, but the very condition “that makes life on earth worth living.” 

“We are honored to be part of a journey that has brought so many people together and inspired moments of healing, compassion, and unity,” Alger told the crowd, adding that in his own faith tradition, the greeting “Peace be with you” is met with the profound response, “And also with you.” 

Reverend Eric Doolittle, the university chaplain and director of AU’s Kay Spiritual Life Center, emphasized the deep historical and interfaith ties between the university and the Buddhist community, noting the generosity shown by various faith communities across the country. 

“I greet you this morning in a spirit of happiness . . . the same generous welcome shown by dozens of United Methodist churches and other houses of faith who opened their doors to you along the way,” Doolittle said. He added that today—60 years after its founding as one of the country’s first collegiate interfaith centers—Kay is home to more than two dozen belief communities, from atheists to Zoroastrians.

The impetus for the walk was not rooted in political protest, but in the tradition of a “spiritual offering”—a quiet beacon intended to pierce through a time of national division. The monks maintained that their journey was not an act of defiance against external forces, but a call to “awaken the peace that already lives within each of us.” 

This message of inner peace was a central theme throughout the journey, where monks often walked barefoot or in stocking feet to remain anchored in the moment.

The journey was also marked by a profound tragedy in November, when the group’s escort vehicle was struck by a truck near Houston. Two monks were seriously injured, and the Venerable Maha Dam Phommasan had his leg amputated. In a testament to the group’s resilience, Phommasan, abbot of a temple in Snellville, Georgia, rejoined the group near DC, entering Bender Arena in a wheelchair to a standing ovation. 

Perhaps the most unexpected heartbeat of the pilgrimage was Aloka, a four-year-old Indian Pariah dog and social media sensation known to thousands as the “Peace Dog.” A former stray who first fell into step with the monks during a trek across India, Aloka became a living symbol of the group’s resilience; he completed the final miles into DC alongside his companions, having persevered through an emergency leg surgery in South Carolina.

The monks held “peace sharing talks” on each day of their journey. During one of the final talks at Bender Arena, the group’s leader, the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, reminded the rapt audience that “peace always begins from within, not without” and urged them to step away from the stress of modern life and the “multitasking” of the mind, focusing instead on each breath as a path to healing.

“Don’t expect the world to be at peace because it will never happen on its own,” said Pannakara, vice president of the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas. “But if all the human beings in this world are practicing mindfulness every single day, it will change this world to be at peace. The power of togetherness can change everything.”

Conny Galvez, SOC-SPA/BA ’28, a student worker at the Kay Spiritual Life Center, interviewed Pannakara before he and others addressed the packed arena. 

The political science and communications studies double major said the only-at-AU opportunity was “amazing but humbling” and that “speaking to Bhikkhu Pannakara helped create a sense of peace that I need for this semester going forward.”

Galvez, a first-generation college student from Norwalk, Connecticut, asked Pannakara how young people, inspired by the monks’ pilgrimage, can practice mindfulness in their daily lives. 

“This world is spinning very fast,” he replied. “We barely have time to catch up with our breath. We don’t need to chase after it; all we need to do is slow down. Once we slow down, we can take each and every breath, in and out, with mindfulness. That’s all we need to do.”