[Thespiritexpress] The Monks ~ A long Walk for Peace🙏

[Sue Magoo]

A BIG thank you to Santa Rosa Sue for sharing this. SO powerful & beautifully explained + expressed.

In loving gratitude,
🤗Little River Sue (Magoo)🙏🏼
Sent from my iPad

On Jan 28, 2026, at 10:29 AM, Ron Nadeau via Thespiritexpress <thespiritexpress at lists.mcn.org> wrote:


Thank you Sue in Santa Rosa for sending this~

🙏

Checking in on the monks’ progress as they continue their Walk for Peace through bitter cold and snow, I continue to be inspired and moved on a daily basis.  (Yes, I confess, I am binge-watching monks.)

The piece below just came across my radar.  Better than I ever could, it captures in words much of what I’m witnessing and sensing, but couldn’t name so clearly.  “This walk is a sermon without words”…  my heart feels this truth and is enlivened by it. 🙏   (Keeping these reminders close by for the road ahead.)
Buddhism<https://www.facebook.com/BuddhismPageFB?__cft__[0]=AZZmRsMuC_z5UBjnYRdk2xvkAvqbhvHLspYDKZVj7Os8ezU9WZvi438lxNYAbtyIAR7e8037-a3_UJl9CecASNjlxxCMotxDnpN6t3IjND4tWudadGWz7kofeflWcjd7Ofjw2y3okemUujLPG6lPe4XG-DuYDdxUwXYrd9or8Qj6X1QWywAtAds4FkqlJoemglxpixToTy3Fv0sCibHBSHu1&__tn__=-UC%2CP-R>
January 25 at 9:36 AM<https://www.facebook.com/BuddhismPageFB/posts/pfbid0pkqcVRWVHG8zeawe6tJqg2EqusGCJ1TfcWTyS2Kd35gokfPRyeqWA1zvedcZfJaUl?__cft__[0]=AZZmRsMuC_z5UBjnYRdk2xvkAvqbhvHLspYDKZVj7Os8ezU9WZvi438lxNYAbtyIAR7e8037-a3_UJl9CecASNjlxxCMotxDnpN6t3IjND4tWudadGWz7kofeflWcjd7Ofjw2y3okemUujLPG6lPe4XG-DuYDdxUwXYrd9or8Qj6X1QWywAtAds4FkqlJoemglxpixToTy3Fv0sCibHBSHu1&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R> ·
A lot of people think this walk by Buddhist monks is just walking.
It’s not.
It’s a moving mirror.
And honestly, it makes modern society uncomfortable.
Here’s why:
This Walk for Peace isn’t about distance.
It’s about how human beings are meant to move through the world.
1. Courage
They walk into uncertainty with no guarantees.
Cold. Heat. Fatigue. Loneliness.
Nothing is dramatized. Nothing is resisted.
No flexing. No bravado.
Just quiet courage—the kind that makes loud “tough talk” look fragile.
2. Determination
They don’t quit when it gets hard. And it does get hard.
Every step is deliberate.
They remind us that purpose matters more than comfort.
The road isn’t the enemy. Giving up is.
3. Willpower
Their minds lead. Their bodies follow.
Pain is noticed—but not obeyed.
No force. No theatrics. Just discipline.
Real strength is self-control, not domination.
4. Patience
They don’t rush. They don’t rage.
Delays aren’t insults. Obstacles aren’t personal attacks.
Patience turns suffering into training.
Peace doesn’t grow in impatient soil.
5. Humility
No spotlight chasing. No ego parade.
They walk gently, not loudly.
They don’t need applause to know who they are.
True greatness doesn’t announce itself.
6. Compassion
They aren’t walking only for themselves.
Each step is for suffering they may never witness—
friends, strangers, even people who might never agree with them.
That level of compassion unsettles people,
because it quietly asks more of us.
And beside them walks Aloka—a rescued dog.
No robes. No vows. No philosophy.
Just presence.
Somehow reminding the world that peace doesn’t require perfection—only kindness.
7. Non-Violence
They don’t argue their way to peace.
They embody it.
Hostility meets silence. Anger meets calm.
Peace isn’t demanded. It’s demonstrated.
8. Discipline
Same routines. Same standards. Every day.
Not harsh—consistent.
Discipline creates clarity, not control.
Freedom doesn’t come from chaos.
9. Mindfulness
They are actually present. Imagine that.
Each breath. Each step. Each moment.
Walking becomes meditation.
Life becomes intentional instead of reactive.
10. Faith
They don’t see the whole path—and walk anyway.
Not blind belief. Deep trust.
Faith is what keeps them moving when certainty disappears.
11. Unity
No one rushes ahead. No one is left behind.
Same pace. Same purpose.
Together over ego.
That alone challenges everything we’ve been taught.
12. Sacrifice
Comfort is optional. Convenience is surrendered.
They walk for something larger than themselves—without complaining.
Peace has never been free.
Final thought
This walk is a sermon without words.
No shouting. No signs. No slogans.
Just example.
Every step teaches.
Every footprint leaves a lesson.
And as these monks—and one quiet dog—move through the world,
they aren’t trying to change it by force.
They’re showing us what peace looks like
when it’s lived,
not preached.

Perhaps others of you also got to see an interaction today, outside a church, between the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara and a “hell awaits” placard carrying gentleman in their path.  The man was insisting that "they are walking their way to hell,” deceiving people even if they don’t realize it, that Jesus is the only way, and that theirs is “false peace.”  He stated many times that he loved the monks, and his earnestness was beyond question. The monk’s assurances that he understood the man’s message, along with his clarity, listening, and compassionate engagement, were lessons to live by.  The man was not to be swayed.  After honoring that they each have their own journey and, at the end, will come together, the monks continued on.  Powerful.

Love, Sue



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