I have been off the grid for a few weeks with a family medical crisis that is only just beginning, so I may disappear again. There's a few days respite so I wanted to participate in this week's thread.
One night the week before Christmas, I had a somewhat amazing encounter at a local gas station with a group of 19 Buddhist monks on a peace walk across the country to Washington DC. About a dozen other folks were milling around talking with the monks, learning about their monastery and their mission. I asked the leader what they would do in Washington when they got there and he told me they would try to get the government involved in their mission for peace. I told him that would be indeed a miracle and he laughed ruefully with me. Their dog Aloka (who is a bit of a monk himself) was a little sick and we helped connect them to a local veterinarian (he's fine now and resumed his position in the lineup). I found out they were doing a lunch picnic lecture the next day further down the road so I went to that, ate the Vietnamese picnic food their support team provided (it was great), listened to their peace lecture, received a peace bracelet, visited with them and about 75 other folks from every conceivable background who showed up. Of course I took pictures, some shown below. The monks ask for nothing. They walk all day, often barefoot. They eat one meal a day. They sleep in little tents even when it's below freezing. They are outside Atlanta now. These highly diverse crowds are growing. Now, instead of 75, there are thousands waiting to meet them, or lining the roads they are walking. Today Sen Rafael Warnock came to their mid day meeting.
The publicity is low key, social media only, run by their very capable support team who follows them in an RV, manages logistics, and prepares their meals. There is a monk photographer traveling with them to make photos and videos! The dog has become so popular that the team last week invented a social media page just for him. I see Aloka has 100,000 followers today. There are live maps showing their route, and the places they will stop for visits and rest. It is hard to put into words the effect they have, but the social media posts are very much like the comments I heard at the lunch visit I had with them. They found themselves among people they would never have encountered in their normal lives, sharing stories and a meal. And it was all good.
