This week a group of Buddhist monks completed their Walk for Peace from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, DC. Along the way, millions of people came out to see them and to experience this amazing witness for peace even as our nation continues to be bitterly divided. The monks’ peaceful presence and simple message touched a deep place of both longing and suffering with the power of love and compassion. The first video posted below provides an overview of the Walk for Peace and a glimpse of the impact it had on so many. The second video features the lead monk reflecting on the meaning and message he hopes will come from the walk. In that video, he states, “Peace with a condition, that is not peace. It will not last.” This is the same truth that Jesus revealed in the sermon on the mount when he called his followers to unconditional love including love for our enemies.
During the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. developed a relationship with the Buddhist monk and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh from war torn Vietnam. Together they showed the power of love and compassion as the foundation for nonviolent direct action for peace and justice. In 1967 Dr. King nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize. The third video comes from an interview in which Thich Nhat Hanh reflected on his relationship with Dr. King.
The witness of the monks who took the Walk for Peace and the witnesses from the Civil Rights Movement share the same message and the same calling – peace is not a utopian dream but a daily practice both individually and in community. The means and ends go together. Peace is not only the goal, peace is the way. The millions of people who came out to see the monks testify to the hunger for peace today. Will you and I do our part to satisfy that hunger by committing daily to practice the way of peace?