Mike Wolanin | The Republic People take part in a peace walk organized by Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbus Indiana in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. The peace walk was done in solidarity with monks from the Huong Dao Buddhist Temple in Ft. Worth, Texas on a Walk for Peace from their temple to Washington D.C. The monks embarked on their Walk for Peace on Oct. 26, 2025.
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbus, Indiana, hosted a Silent Peace Walk in downtown Columbus at 4 p.m. Friday.
About 60-80 people participated in the walk, that began and ended at the Veterans Memorial at the Bartholomew County Courthouse, with participants walking about a half mile down Washington Street downtown and then back to the courthouse.
The entire walk was conducted in silence, with no signs, banners or chants.
Participants wore white armbands to symbolize peace and are invited to carry flowers.
The walk was planned in solidarity with the monks from the Huong Dao Buddhist Temple in Fort Worth, Texas, who are currently walking from their Texas monastery to Washington D.C.
The monks began their walk on Oct. 26, and are scheduled to complete the journey in mid-February, where they plan to ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday, according to the Associated Press.
“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we meet will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trip barefoot, the Associated Press reported. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every community where the monks stop.
Pannakara has told the crowds who gather that the monks are not trying to convert people to Buddhism, the Associated Press reported.
“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” said Brooke Schedneck, Rhodes College professor of religion in Memphis, Tennessee. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible,” she told the Associated Press.
