Ellie Bethel was surprised to find tears in her eyes. The George Washington University senior was in Betts Theatre Tuesday evening to welcome the Walk for Peace, a group of 19 Buddhist monks concluding a 108-day journey on foot from their home monastery in Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., promoting only peace. The monumental 2,300-mile trek—on which the group were accompanied by their rescue dog, Aloka—passed through nine states, often in bitter winter weather. Earlier that day, they had been received at the Washington National Cathedral before a crowd of thousands, including faith leaders from across the nation.
Now the monks were onstage at GW, following a university-wide effort led by the Division for Student Affairs and its Center for Interfaith & Spiritual Life, in coordination with GW’s Buddhist Chaplain Amitha Khema Thero, the Buddha Meditation Center of Greater Washington, D.C., and countless partners across GW and the DMV. Bethel was one of a hushed crowd of hundreds from the GW community; outside the theater, a standby audience hoping to catch a glimpse of the group stretched to the doors of the University Student Center.
“It felt like being part of the movement, just by witnessing it…what they're doing is real and it has a real impact,” said Bethel, a double major in psychology and Spanish. “I didn't look at my phone at all while I was in here with them. That’s something I want to take away from tonight: being present, whether that’s in my classes or my friendships. Stay in the moment and not worry too much about what's coming, because I can't control it. I can only control myself.”
Bethel was expressing an effect that has been felt by people across the nation—one echoed by GW President Ellen M. Granberg in her introductory remarks.
“You have inspired people of all faiths and cultures with your commitment, your leadership and your discipline,” Granberg said. “The world has been watching your travels and truly needs the space for peace and healing that you are creating as you build community with every step you take. We are especially honored that you have included GW in your journey and hope that our time together offers a moment for all of us to cultivate respect, deepen understanding and take care of one another.”
Relive the Walk for Peace's visit in video. (Cara Taylor/GW Today)
Granberg was joined by Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Colette Coleman, Student Government Association President Ethan Lynne, University Chaplain Kristen Glass Perez and Buddhist Chaplain Amitha Khema Thero. Along with faith leaders from other monasteries, officials presented the group with a GW pin, an art piece designed by Khema Thero and sets of robes, which are one of the few material gifts Buddhist monks can accept. GW Chief of Police Victor Brito also presented a gift to the monks, joining many other law enforcement officers who gave badges and pins to the monks as signs of respect and support. (All of the pins and badges received from groups encountered on the walk will be given away, Khema Thero explained.)
“On behalf of the George Washington University and the Division for Student Affairs and the Center for Interfaith and Spiritual Life, we are deeply honored to host this gathering,” Glass Perez said. “It is about meeting one another across traditions, experiences, and questions, and about offering everyone a moment of wisdom, grounding, hope and peace.”
After the group chanted a blessing, Venerable Bikkhu Pannakara, the monk who created the Walk for Peace, led a mindfulness meditation. He guided listeners to focus on disempowering the “monkey mind”—the restless whirl of thoughts and feelings that accompany silent contemplation—by noting the presence of any internal or external distraction, naming it as “thought,” “sound” or “feeling,” and returning patiently to the sensation of breath flowing in and out of the nostrils.
In his thoughtful, often-humorous remarks afterwards, Pannakara compared this process to training Aloka, who was resting and did not make an appearance. (The crowd let out an audibly disappointed sigh after learning of the canine celebrity’s absence, evoking a laughing, mock-exasperated response from his trainer: “What is that?”)
An inability to focus during meditation is normal and unproblematic, Pannakara emphasized. Just as Aloka’s natural urge is to chase squirrels, the mind is pulled toward thoughts and desires: the preoccupations of the day, an interesting nearby object or person, a rehash of past frustrations. And just as Pannakara would repeatedly tug on Aloka’s leash to make the dog stay until he was well-trained enough to break this habit, the value of meditation lies in returning to the single point of focus—the breath—no matter how many times the mind is derailed. “That breath, that concentration, is the leash to pull us back here—to live with this present moment.”
While improvements in quality of life do follow, Pannakara said, practice without expectations justifies itself in non-reactivity, in decreased stress, in kindness and the capability to forgive oneself and others. He emphasized that mindfulness isn’t about proselytizing, but about body and mind working together toward one’s own inner peace.
“Live life peacefully: This is how we walk together on this journey, this walk for peace,” Pannakara said. “Every single one of us has our own path. But we will be walking together…to bring peace to this world.”
[See more photos from both days of the Walk for Peace at GW.]
After his remarks, Pannakara took questions from audience members, including Bethel, who asked how to make peace with uncertainty as graduation approaches. (There was no need for fear as long as she stayed present, he responded: “If you are able to stay focused with this present moment, live fully with it, be mindful with it, your future will come to you.”)
To a student who asked how he coped with distraction and stress during his own student days, Pannakara offered a rare look at his personal backstory. (“Bikkhu” is not a given name, but a term for an ordained monk.) He was debilitatingly shy, he said, shutting himself in his room after class and rarely offering more than a few words to his family. And he had no formal mindfulness training to help him.
Instead, Pannakara would “talk with the wind,” he said. “I take a deep breath and then breathe out and think of all those problems in my head. I tell the winds, ‘Please take all these away, I don't want them.’ Keep doing that breathing and talk with the wind like that for a long time.”
One hot day in Texas, after he had graduated and was working, he visited Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center, the monastery that would become his home. Without having planned to do so, Pannakara approached a teacher who was walking outside and declared that he wanted to become a monk.
“That's how my journey began,” he said.
The monks closed with another chanted blessing and distributed peace bracelets to audience members before heading to Lerner, where they would sleep that night. (GW staff who support the Lerner Center were able to meet Aloka during the overnight stay, and Assistant Vice President for Administration and Operations for Student Affairs Giulietta Versiglia presented the dog with a GW bandana.)
Walk for Peace monks made a home for the night at Lerner. (William Atkins/GW Today)
The next day, the Walk for Peace group visited the U.S. Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial before returning to GW to host a public event at the Charles E. Smith Center. That gathering drew thousands, creating lines down several city blocks before doors opened.
John Lach, GW interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, welcomed the community and reflected on the significance of the monks’ 2,300-mile pilgrimage from Texas to Washington, D.C.
“This journey, rooted in compassion, discipline and hope, reminds us that peace is not only an aspiration but a daily practice,” Lach said. “We are grateful to walk alongside you, even briefly, on this powerful journey that has served as an inspiration to so many in these recent months.”
Pannakara addressed the crowd before leading another meditation, outlining the purpose of the monks’ journey.
“In this world, we have a lot of enemies,” he said. “[But] regardless of enemies [and] how hateful they are to you and what they have done to us, it really doesn’t matter because we don’t need to create more troubles for ourselves and this world. That is the reason why we walk for peace.”
He offered guidance on posture and focus; attendees could be heard shifting in their seats as he instructed everyone to sit straight but relaxed. Throughout the session, Pannakara occasionally encouraged participants with phrases like “stay focused” and “concentrate” as thousands sat in contemplative silence.
This session centered explicitly on cultivating loving-kindness—directing compassionate thoughts toward oneself and outward to all beings.
After approximately an hour, Pannakara concluded the meditation with remarks emphasizing the impact of sustained mindfulness and the evening’s shared experience, saying, “If all of us practice mindfulness and loving-kindness every day like this … we can change everything.”
Audience members participated in an hourlong loving-kindness meditation. (Cooper Tyksinski/GW Today)
When he asked who had managed to stay fully focused throughout the session, roughly a third of the audience raised their hands, prompting him to joke, “more than what I expected.”
He also acknowledged the monks’ long journey and its completion.
“After 2,300 miles of walking [and] encounters of so many … difficulties, a lot of injuries and illness, finally, we finish our journey,” Pannakara said.
As the program closed, the crowd offered a standing ovation in appreciation of the monks’ teachings and presence. Although the monks’ physical walk has concluded, Pannakara said, their mission continues.
“This journey will never end. We have to continue our walk for the rest of our lives,” he said. “We will continue walking with all of you every day … to turn this world into a beautiful world.”
Watch full recordings of Tuesday's GW community event and Wednesday’s public event on the GW YouTube channel.
