Whatshot
One Step at a Time: The Monks Walking the World for Peace
One Step at a Time: The Monks Walking the World for Peace
Dressed in simple robes, often barefoot, a small group of Tibetan Buddhist monks has been quietly making its way across continents, one deliberate step at a time, carrying a message that feels both ancient and strangely radical in today's noisy world: peace begins within.
The monks come from Buddhist traditions rooted in Tibet and Southeast Asia, where walking meditation and pilgrimage have long been part of spiritual life. For centuries, monks have walked between monasteries, villages and sacred sites - not to arrive somewhere important, but to practice presence, humility and compassion along the way.
This modern journey began in October 2025 in the United States, where around 19 monks set off on what has become known as a Walk for Peace. Their route stretches thousands of kilometres across multiple states, heading towards Washington, D.C., where they are expected to arrive in early 2026.
Why walk now?
The monks speak quietly of a world frayed by conflict, division and speed. Walking, they say, is their response - a deliberate slowing down in a culture that rarely pauses. Each step is a form of meditation. Each encounter is the point.
Along the road, they stop in small towns and cities, meeting whoever wishes to meet them. There are no sermons. Instead, there are conversations, shared silence, moments of curiosity and kindness. Sometimes they offer simple bracelets as blessings. Sometimes they simply smile and keep moving.
In a detail that has captured hearts online, a rescue dog named Aloka, recognisable by a heart-shaped marking, has joined them on part of the journey - an accidental mascot who has come to symbolise compassion without borders.
This is not a protest march or a political campaign. The monks are careful about that. Their aim is quieter and perhaps more ambitious: to remind people that peace is not something negotiated only in boardrooms or parliaments, but something practised daily - in how we walk, speak, listen and treat one another.
The journey has not been without difficulty. The monks have faced exhaustion, weather extremes and even a traffic accident early on. Still, they continue, guided by discipline, routine and a shared belief that steady presence can be more powerful than loud outrage.
So will they come to South Africa?
For now, there are no confirmed plans for this particular group to walk beyond the United States or to visit South Africa or Durban specifically. These pilgrimages often evolve organically, shaped by invitations, resources and circumstance rather than fixed itineraries.
But perhaps that uncertainty is part of the point.
The monks are not walking to tick countries off a list. They are walking to plant ideas - that peace is possible, that slowness is strength, and that sometimes the most meaningful journeys are the ones without a clear end.
In a world obsessed with speed, their message is clear: Walk carefully. Be present. The path matters as much as the destination.