Walk for peace: Buddhist monks arrive in Washington after 3,700km journey
Their message of compassion, which comes amid US tensions over Trump’s immigration crackdown, has won millions of supporters
Draped in burnt-orange robes, two dozen Buddhist monks arrived in Washington on Tuesday on a 3,700km (2,300-mile) “Walk for Peace”, a self-described spiritual journey across nine states that has been cheered on by crowds of thousands.
“I feel like in our country and in our world right now that you have to show your support for peace in every possible way you can,” said Bob Anderson, 74, of Gloucester County, Virginia, during a stop by the monks in Richmond on February 3.
“And so this is a great way to do so. That’s why I’m here.”
The monks began their walk in Texas more than three months ago, at times braving frigid winter temperatures, sometimes with bare feet, to raise “awareness of peace, loving kindness, and compassion across America and the world”.
The marchers continued on despite a powerful winter storm that spread a paralysing mix of heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain from the Ohio Valley and mid-South to New England, compounded by bitter, Arctic cold gripping much of the US.