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Monks March For Peace
While Politicians Make Crazy Wars By Matthew Fox 1/562025 |
We are taught to “read the signs of our times.” One sign of our times is that many, many human voices from popes to everyday citizens are calling humanity to its capacities for peace. At the same time, exploding budgets built by scurrilous politicians are bloated with more and more weaponry—as if war is what humanity is all about. |
Currently we have a crazed president, supported by soulless sycophants and fellow Republicans, dropping bombs on the capital city of Venezuela and kidnapping its president and first lady (granted, their “election” was most likely stolen). He promises to “run” the country of Venezuela, even though the country that elected him regrets it more every day—and is being run mostly into the ground. |
Senator Bernie Sanders explains the unconstitutionality and potential outcomes of the illegal attack against Venezuela by the felonious occupant of the White House, and outlines what must be done in response. @SenatorSanders |
The reasons he gives for invading a sovereign nation and deposing its president seem to echo Vladimir Putin’s excuse for invading Ukraine almost four years ago. Meanwhile, something else is making the news and naming the “signs of our times” besides
war. And that is the 2300-mile march for peace by 19 Buddhist monks trekking from their monastery in Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C. Their journey covers ten states and should conclude after about 120 days. Currently, they are more than halfway through. They have more than one million followers so
far across social platforms, and they are accompanied by their companion, Aloka the Peace Dog. You can follow their route HERE. Their official Walk for Peace Facebook page gives the purpose of their journey: To promote
the “awareness of peace, loving kindness, and compassion across America and the world.” So far, their movement has attracted around 600,000 Facebook followers and 620,000 Instagram followers, and their Peace Dog has attracted over 200,000 followers on Facebook. |
Why a Buddhist Monk Walks for Peace| Dhamma Talk | Venerable Pannakara |DEC 30-25 | BƯỚC CHÂN HÀNH GIẢ | They walk 20 to 30 miles per day, and many crowds have
come out to support their work along the way from Houston to Atlanta and in many small towns, too. A price has been paid for their pilgrimage already, as 30 miles east of Houston, two monks were hit by a car, and |
one elderly monk had his leg amputated as a result. Now, local police departments are volunteering along the way to escort the monks as they carry on their march. And what about our journeys? Are we doing all we can to resist the noise of War and to work for peace? Can we
join the monks if not in person, at least in attention and devotion to peace, whether we be Buddhist or atheist or humanist or Christian, Jew or Muslim or indigenous or pagan or Wiccan? Ours is a time for all humans and all religions to put aside their differences and to march together for what matters: Peace and Justice,
Compassion and Kindness—these are as basic to our survival as breathing in the common air and protecting our common Mother Earth. If our faith traditions are not teaching this, they are failing us, and we must move on from them. Practice and orthopraxis are far more important than
orthodoxy. |
Might Christian monks leave their monasteries and join these Buddhist monks? There are times when a “vow of stability” needs to be suspended. Thomas Aquinas wrote about the virtue of epikeia, which is the virtue of knowing when to suspend the rules. |
Interfaith action: “Faith Leaders Blockade and Shut Down ICE Field Office, San Francisco, December 16, 2025” Photo by Peg Hunter, on Flickr. |
We celebrate Deep Ecumenism and Interfaith such as I wrote in the November 4 DM on a
new two-part book titled Interspirituality*. But actions speak louder than words.
Thank you, monks, for demonstrating and bearing witness to that other way: The way of peace, loving kindness, and compassion that also mark us as humans.
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*See Interspirituality: The Heritage (Volume 1) and Interspirituality: The Future (Volume 2). Opening Message by H.H. The Dalai Lama; Foreword by Matthew Fox; Afterword by Ken Wilbur. Edited by Light on Light
Press.
Banner Image: The monks are greeted by a crowd of supporters in Snellville, GA. Photo credit: The Walk for Peace. Published with permission.
To follow the monks’ progress, learn more about their mission, and donate to their march, see their official Facebook page HERE. Queries for Contemplation How do the monks marching for peace inspire you? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialogue, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. Books and More by Matthew and Friends! Be sure to check out Matthew's new store at MatthewFox.org, now offering books, recorded courses old and new, and special events... and don't miss our growing collection of books endorsed by Matthew on Bookshop.org! |
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