Buddhist Monks Persist in Peace Walk Across U.S. Despite Recent Accident

ATLANTA (AP) — A group of Buddhist monks is persevering in their walking trek across much of the U.S. to promote peace, even after two of its members were injured when a truck hit their escort vehicle.

After starting their walk in Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 26, the group of about two dozen monks has made it to Georgia as they continue on a path to Washington, D.C., highlighting Buddhism’s long tradition of activism for peace.

The group planned to walk its latest segment through Georgia on Tuesday from the town of Morrow to Decatur, on the eastern edge of Atlanta. Marking day 66 of the walk, the group invited the public to a Peace Gathering in Decatur Tuesday afternoon.

The monks and their loyal dog Aloka are traveling through 10 states en route to Washington, D.C. In coming days, they plan to pass through or very close to Athens, Georgia; the North Carolina cities of Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh; and Richmond, Virginia, on their way to the nation’s capital city.

The group has amassed a huge audience on social media, with more than 400,000 followers on Facebook. Aloka, who is named after a Sanskrit word meaning enlightenment, has its own hashtag, #AlokathePeaceDog.

The trek has not been without danger. Last month outside Houston, the monks were walking on the side of a highway near Dayton, Texas, when their escort vehicle, which had its hazard lights on, was hit by a truck.

The truck “didn’t notice how slow the vehicle was going, tried to make an evasive maneuver to drive around the vehicle, and didn’t do it in time,” Dayton Interim Police Chief Shane Burleigh said at the time.

One monk suffered substantial leg injuries and was flown to a hospital in Houston. The other monk with less serious injuries was taken by ambulance to another hospital in suburban Houston. The monk with serious leg injuries is expected to recover following multiple surgeries.

“We do not walk alone. We walk together with every person whose heart has opened to peace, whose spirit has chosen kindness,” the group shared on social media.

Buddhism is rooted in the teachings of Gautama Buddha, who emphasized non-violence, meditation, and compassion for all beings. Its tradition of peace activism continues through its advocates like the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh.