Peace Begins with Our Breath
The Walk for Peace moved through Fredericksburg and Stafford on Friday. After their lunch at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, they spoke to the public about the journey, and finding peace.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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For the venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the spiritual leader of the group of Buddhist monks participating in the 2,300-mile Walk for Peace, the hardest part of the journey so far has not been tiredness or soreness. Those feelings are “normal,” just part of being human, he said.
Rather, it was when he had to put on boots during the recent snow storm, after walking barefoot most of the way from Fort Worth, Texas.
The monks, from the Hương Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, set out on their trek to Washington, D.C., to promote peace, love, kindness, and compassion on October 26, 2025. On Friday—day 104 of their journey—they passed through Fredericksburg and Stafford counties, stopping for a midday rest and to have lunch at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg in the Chatham Heights area of Stafford.
Members of the fellowship prepared a carpet of flower petals to welcome the monks, and members of the local Buddhist community, including several area Thai restaurants, donated food for the monks and their support team.
“This is an opportunity for our local Buddhist community to celebrate and honor their culture,” said Sarah Dewees, who is active with the Fredericksburg-Kathmandu Sister City Association.
Lekh Nath Adhikari, president of the Fredericksburg-Kathmandu Sister City Association, said there are “many people in the area who have a connection to Buddhism.” Even beyond that cultural and religious connection, “so many people are willing to be a part” of the Walk for Peace, he said.
“I have been following [the monks] from Chester,” said Adhikari. “People are lining up for hours and hours to see them. Many people are feeling blessed just to see them.”
Marylise Cobey, a member of the Unitarian Fellowship, was one of many people who came out to see the monks on Friday and cried when she talked about why.
“This is just the most hopeful thing,” Cobey said. “You read a headline these days and your heart just drops. But this is hopeful.”
As the monks entered into Fredericksburg from Spotsylvania earlier on Friday, Rev. Joe Hensley, rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church, rang the church bells 108 times to welcome them and “as a call to mindfulness” for those watching their progress, Hensley said.
Sgt. Steven Curtis of the Stafford Sheriff’s Office, which accompanied the monks to provide security as they walked through the county, said the crowds that turned out to see the monks have been “peaceful and respectful.”
He also emphasized the opportunity the monks provide to learn about Buddhism and its traditions, as did Adhikari, who noted that many people have never seen a Buddhist monk in real life.
Bhikkhu Pannakara is aware of this, too.
“When you see something different—when you see a group of monks walking, sometimes barefoot, by the side of the road—you slow down,” he said to a crowd gathered outside the Unitarian Fellowship. “When you slow down, you see that need for peace. That’s why it had to be a Walk for Peace. It couldn’t be a Drive for Peace or a Fly for Peace. When we walk, people can see us, and they can slow down.”
In 2022, Pannakara completed a 112-day walk in India, which is where he was adopted by Aloka, a stray dog who has become a mascot for the monks and who has accompanied them on the current journey, sometimes on foot and sometimes riding in their support vehicle.
Pannakara said the group usually walks 22-25 miles each day. So far, they have passed through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. They arrived in Virginia five days ago and expect to reach Washington, D.C. on February 10.
But when they do reach their destination, that won’t mean the walk is over, Pannakara said.
“I don’t want this walk to end in D.C.,” he said. “[Peace] is something we have to practice every day. This isn’t a one-time thing. It’s a lifetime thing.”
Pannakara said peace can begin “with our breath, going in and out.”
In times of stress, anxiety, or fear, we can always focus on our breath as it enters and leaves our bodies, he said. Doing that doesn’t mean our “monkey minds” will stop jumping constantly from one thought to the next, but it will give us a chance to observe them jumping.
“Every time that monkey starts to jump, you have to see it,” he said. “Observe it. Acknowledge it.” And then, let it go.
When we let our thoughts go and stop chasing after them, then we can begin to find peace, Pannakara said.
Follow the monks on their journey here.
This story was updated on Saturday, February 7, at 9:50 a.m. to add information about the ringing of St. George Episcopal Church bells to welcome the venerable monks to Fredericksburg.
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Wonderful coverage of a momentous event; I wish I could have been there! As a follow up I recommend the book, Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh.