On a balmy winter day in rural South Carolina, the emergence of nearly two dozen Buddhist monks from the morning fog stops a pair of women from Savannah, Ga., on the side of the road.
They are heading west on U.S. Route 378 as the monks head east towards Saluda.
“The monks brought us here,” says Karen McHugh, who came from Georgia with her friends, Christine Alexander, just to see them. “ In spirit. I was drawn to come here. I’m always looking for peace within myself and it's a hard thing to find. Even at 70 years old.”
The monks past, swiftly, offering blessings and thanks to a smattering of people who’ve come to see them. They exchange flowers and rocks; string bracelets and small trinkets.
About 4 miles away, the center of town packs with onlookers, spiritual pilgrims, and peace advocates. Many have taken the day off work; pulled children from school. In English and Spanish, they chatter amongst themselves in hushed tones. Most say they’re being quiet out of respect for the approaching monks.
When they arrive in Saluda, the loosely assembled crowd seems to double. Barely 3,100 people live in the Town of Saluda. Today, well more than 1,000 people ring the grounds of the Saluda County Courthouse, where the monks stop for lunch.
The crowd remains largely quiet; prays with monks as the Ven. Bhikku Pannakara blesses the meal, its preparers, and the police and volunteers who are escorting them through town.
The crowd also cranes a collective neck to see Aloka, the monks’ dog. Aloka, whose name means “light” in Sanskrit, is from India. He was a stray that the Ven. Pannakara found while on a similar journey through Asia.
Aloka eventually gives in to meet a group of women close to the magnolia tree where the monks eat their lunch. The camera clicks nearly drown out the collective “aww” that comes swiftly after Aloka lies down for belly rubs.
The monks land in Saluda on Day 75 of what is expected to be a 120-day Walk for Peace. They set off from a temple in Fort Worth, Texas, and have walked across the Deep South. They are due to reach Columbia by this weekend, where they might stay for an extra day of rest before turning north towards Washington, D.C.
Before leaving the courthouse, the Ven. Pannakara speaks to the crowd about the importance of mindfulness and purpose as the pathway to peace. He also asks for the people here to keep walking with him and his fellow journeymen.
“I always ask everybody to walk in spirit,” he says. “In spirit we can walk together.”
And, he says, that when he and his fellow monks finally reach Washington, the Walk for Peace will mean nothing if the movement towards peace stops there.
“ Washington, D.C., is not the final destination,” he tells the crowd. “We'll have to walk to the end of our life, to our last breath in this lifetime, until this world become a better place.”
