24

Feb

Monks On the Move on  Mission of Peace  Move Hearts

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Dr P P Wangchuk

New Delhi | Wednesday | 25 February 2026

Life is all about love, peace and happiness, and that can’t happen when our Mother Earth is torn apart by wars. The very meaning and purpose of a good and a progressive life goes wasted when there are wars and peace is a casualty.

It was with this point as mission in mind that 18 Buddhist monks, led by Bhikkhu Panakara, staged an amazing peace-walk, over 2,703 km, in 108 days, and touched the hearts of millions across the globe.

Their mission: To help   bring this war-torn world of ours into a peaceful mode by creating a sense of awareness that wars have never been any means to achieve peace and harmony.

Starting from Texas and ending up their mission successfully in Washington, after 108 tiring days with great challenges on the way, braving rains and storms. And the worst of all, two of the monks were badly injured in a road accident. As a result, one of the injured monks needed to get one of his legs cut.  Despite such issues on the way, the monks’ mission-peace has not only moved the hearts of millions but was also quite effective in sending out a soulful message to those leaders of the world who have lost their 'mental balance' and have turned our Mother Earth into a dangerous 'war zone', killing or affecting the lives of thousands of innocent people every day.

What was interesting and greatly noticeable was the loyal, faithful and wonderful Aloka the dog who could very easily understand the immediate need for a peaceful world, and travelled all the way from India to the US to make his bid towards ending wars in several regions across the globe. The sad thing that happened with Aloka in the middle of the journey to peace was that he was so exhausted that his body parts, particularly the legs, had become ‘non-functional’. He had to be admitted to a hospital for operation and treatment of one of his legs that had ‘gone useless’ because of overwork and stress for weeks. Such a long walk was not in his way of life when he was a stray-dog in a Kolkata street in 2022. He had followed the monks when they were on their peace-walk in India. Since then, Aloka never looked back and became a source of inspiration not only for the monks but for the entire humanity on this globe.

Article at a Glance
Eighteen Buddhist monks, led by Bhikkhu Panakara, undertook a 2,703-km peace walk from Texas to Washington over 108 days to spread awareness that war can never bring true harmony.
Despite harsh weather and a serious road accident that left one monk losing a leg, they remained committed to their mission of promoting love, compassion, and global peace. Their journey touched millions and drew widespread public support across cities.
A loyal dog named Aloka, originally a stray from Kolkata, became a symbol of dedication by accompanying the monks from India to the US. Though he suffered exhaustion and required surgery, he recovered and continued the march. The initiative highlighted that peace is essential for happiness and progress, urging world leaders to abandon conflict and work toward unity and a more compassionate, harmonious world.

As if Aloka knew, his role was to create awareness for that ‘missing peace’ that has endangered everybody’s life on this planet. Once he recovered from the operation and treatment within a week, he was back in action in the streets of America with the monks, almost leading them to their destination, to make it successful, and highly applauded by the people at every spot they were greeted with offerings. 

Thousands of people came out to support the monks and darling Aloka, every day at many spots on the way in various cities, some of them crying and others with roses, chocolates and essential commodities to make the monks' peace-march comfortable and successful.

Having said that, all that remains to say is that peace is not only a necessity of life but also the very purpose, a kind of mission. No peace, no happiness and no progressive life because there would be no supportive and congenial atmosphere. If we fail in such efforts of peace,  the very purpose of life will go mission less. And we lose, as human beings, our superiority to all other beings. Therefore, the hardened souls and rusted minds in the form of leaders must turn around and work for love, compassion and peace. They are there as leaders to lead us towards a happier and a progressive world in which everybody can have his/her place to stand up and prove that life is all about a beautiful journey with great responsibilities.

The punchline: Peace is the only key to a united, progressive and happy world. Humanity today is dying for peace. ( Dr P P Wangchuk is an Editor-at-large, columnist and professional speaker)

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