A swarm of South Carolinians and out-of-state visitors rushed for a spot at the Statehouse south steps after many marched miles with a group of Buddhist monks on a "Walk for Peace."
Crowd members held flowers, poster signs and bags of oranges in hopes of connecting with the monks, whether through a message or a donation. The group trekked from Lexington to Columbia Jan. 10 on Day 77 of the 120-day, 2,300-mile journey to the nation's capital city.
As was consistent with other places the monks had paused their seemingly perpetual pace, peace and unity were the windy Saturday afternoon's defining traits.
Some onlookers knew the hour-long downtown Columbia stop would be their only opportunity to see the group for an extended period. Dawn Thorne, who now works in North Carolina but used to call Columbia home, said it was an honor to return and see the group she had become familiar with for months online.
"The stars and moon have aligned for me to be able to be here today," she said in a gaggle of people still racing to get a spot by the Statehouse stairs. "I get a chance to come and be with some of my favorite people to be a part of all this. And don't we need this message?"
The monks will head toward Rock Hill and Charlotte, N.C., but Thorne was not sure if she would have the opportunity to see the group when they traveled closer to her current residence. She then lifted her hands in the shape of a heart.
It was just one display of appreciation Saturday.
Peace signs and cardboard signs were ready to greet the monks. The messages followed them to downtown Columbia and to an eventual stop for the night at the Lutheran Theologial Seminary.
Thida Snow and her husband, too, were visitors to Columbia. They took advantage of their home in Augusta, Ga., to trail the monks in three locations. Snow practices Buddhism, but she said the walk breaks religious barriers.
"This is not just about religion. This is not about what we believe," she said. "We all believe in one thing — peace."
Snow lived in Seattle and Burma before she and her husband bought a house in Georgia. She said mindfulness should be the key takeaway from the walk for those who do not practice Buddhism; the monks' visit to Columbia should be used as a pillar for positive change, not just a one-day spectacle.
The monks entered the state Jan. 6 and have walked through municipalities like McCormick, Edgefield and Saluda. South Carolina Public Radio's Scott Morgan reported on the monks' Saluda arrival.
No major accidents or deterrents have met the monks in South Carolina so far. In Houston, one monk's leg was amputated after a traffic collision.
In Columbia, as they walked past a praying blind man and children propped on their parents' shoulders, the same notes of excitement heard in rural South Carolina were spewed in the Palmetto State's capital city.
Cheers erupted as the crowd of thousands finally got its first clear, stationary view of the men who had traveled from Fort Worth, Texas.
Nonprofit Be the Ones prepared the Saturday afternoon public events. It also helped with lodging and medical care. Founder and director Cate Mayer said she and the nonprofit believe peace starts with change at the local level.
"With how we show up for one another, how we listen, how we act with care and how we act with compassion, the walk for peace is rooted in collective care," she said.
Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann and Democratic state Sen. Deon Tedder joined the monks on the Statehouse steps. Rickenmann and Tedder presented city and state proclamations.
Of all the presenters and politicians, though, the crowd's loudest collective reaction came after Aloka, the loyal companion dog whom joined the monks on the journey to Washington, D.C., broke free from the group for just half a minute.
The Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara has served as monks' leader on this "Walk for Peace." He began his speech with a request for serenity and diligence after a medic was requested for a person in attendance.
He called the walk a "tough journey" full of injuries, new locations and perseverance.
"We have never given up," he said. "We get up every day at 4 a.m. to be there and start walking again."
Pannakara was another voice who clarified that the walk was not about Buddhism but about mindfulness, which he said transcends religious beliefs. He closed the visit to downtown Columbia by chanting Sadhu three times. Sadhu is expression in Buddhism with multiples meanings of appreciation, but Pannakara said its chanting would mean, "I rejoice with this meritorious deed with the venerable monks."
The group finished with a final, collective, "Sadhu."
The monks — some sporting nothing but bandages on their feet — then walked up the stairs into the Statehouse. The group is soon expected in Rock Hill en route to the nation's capital.
Attendees appeared to vanish immediately after the demonstration; some visitors to the state had to begin a drive home, while others sought to catch the ongoing Carolina Panthers NFL playoff game.
A "living art" piece strewn with charcoal was set on the floor. Artist Meaghan Westfall, who works at the EdVenture Children's Museum in Columbia, laid out a piece meant to get dirty.
People and dogs alike would coat their soles in charcoal and walk across a white sheet. Westfall said it was a quick visual example of how anyone can make a change, even if the change is just a small step forward.
"It felt like an oxygen mask was going on all of us at once," she said in reference to the monks. "We're capable of coming together."
