The Buddhist monk who led a “Walk for Peace” from Texas to the nation’s capital said he believes peace can be achieved even in a world filled with conflict, citing the overwhelming displays of public support for his walk as a source of hope for future change.
“Peace always begins from with ourself. It’s not the world peace out there,” the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara said in an exclusive interview with CBS News on Wednesday. “No one can change this world, but together, all people and all the venerable monks are walking together on this journey. … We can make a difference.”
Pannakara, who serves as vice president of the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, embarked on a mission to spread that message of mindfulness, inner peace and unity on Oct. 26, 2025, with the temple as its starting point.
Joined by a group of 19 Buddhist monks from the Fort Worth area as well as temples in Georgia, New York, Utah, plus others abroad from Thailand and Vietnam, the 15-week procession would ultimately carry them across 2,300 miles of the southern United States.
The venerable — joined by Aloka, the 5-year-old “peace dog” — sat down with CBS News at George Washington University Wellness Center, where the monks spent the night. They were set to go on a shorter walk on Wednesday to the Lincoln Memorial, after which the group of monks was scheduled to return to Texas by bus.
“Mindfulness is the key to show people that peace is something that is possible and always begins from within,” Pannakara said. “So when we walk, people see us, they can pause, they can stop doing everything, and they look back within. And that’s why I come up with this ‘Walk for Peace.'”
Their walk culminated in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, after a trek that lasted 109 days, brought dangerous cold weather and an accident that caused two of the monks to suffer injuries, one of whom required an amputation. Pannakara said the hardest part was the freezing weather, and the way they dealt with tough conditions is to simply focus on their breathing.
“We practice mindfulness meditation while we walk,” he said. “The more you focus on the breathing … it will generate energy for us to walk.”
The cohort was greeted upon arrival by a crowd of cheering supporters who had been tracking their journey.
The size of the crowds that popped up physically on their route, while significant, paled in comparison to the millions who followed the peace walk digitally through livestreams and other updates shared on social media and a website dedicated to the plight, Pannakara noted. He said their responses suggested the overarching message of their mission — to “raise the awareness of peace” — was received.
When asked if peace can be achieved in a broken world, Pannakara said: “It is possible.”
“Like these days, from Texas to here, I always say that peace has begun, has bloomed, because everywhere we go now, people just lining up on the street and gathering to support this mission and to walk with us,” he said.
The monks also encountered critics during their procession, but Pannakara said they did not deter the group’s focus.
“On our journey alone, there are haters. There are people that shout, and there are people that curse at us as well, and protest everything we have,” he said. “But those will not bother us, because our goal is to bring the awareness of peace to all people. And so we just focus on that…”
“Peace with a condition that is not peace,” Pannakara added. “It will not last. So, in any condition, if we’re be able to stay calm and cool and patient, that is when peace begins. That is a real peace.”