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Nineteen Buddhist monks crossed Fairfax County beneath gray February skies this week, nearing the end of a 108-day pilgrimage that carried them 2,300 miles from Texas to Washington, D.C.

Dressed in saffron robes and joined by their rescue dog, Aloka, the monks traveled along major highways and rural paths, sometimes barefoot. They endured Texas snowstorms and frozen roads before arriving in McLean on Monday with 48 hours left in their Walk for Peace.

For local students, the pilgrimage offered an unusual source of inspiration.

Senior Olivia Nguyen visited Marymount University with her Vietnamese Buddhist father after following the monks’ journey on TikTok. She described hearing them speak in person as “a really cool experience.”

Organized by the Fort Worth-based Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center, the walk was presented as a spiritual offering rather than a political protest. Carrying only walking sticks, the monks sought to encourage mindfulness, compassion and loving-kindness.

The pilgrimage also received recognition from Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger. In her first official proclamation, Spanberger designated Feb. 2 as Walk for Peace Day in Virginia.

Speaking alongside the monks in Richmond, Spanberger praised their “strength and valor” and connected their journey with efforts to build community and make progress across the state.

At American University on Feb. 10, Walk for Peace leader Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara emphasized mindfulness as a daily practice.

“Mindfulness is something that we have to have, we have to live with every second, every breath,” Pannakara said. Without it, he warned, stress, anxiety and depression will continue to follow people.

The message resonated with McLean students concerned about conflict in the United States and abroad. Senior Dylan Reck said the monks’ decision to walk thousands of miles for peace was remarkable, particularly because of the risks they faced.

Those dangers became painfully real during the three-month journey. A vehicle struck the group in Texas, seriously injuring two monks. One lost a leg. Despite the crash and severe winter weather, the others continued toward Washington.

Sophomore Tarek Elbehiry said the discipline required to complete such a journey offered a lesson in perseverance that he could apply to his own life.

Near the pilgrimage’s conclusion, Marymount University hosted a reception for the monks. They met visitors and spoke about their journey while standing outside in temperatures near 18 degrees.

Reck, who spoke with two of the monks, said their kindness and warmth were immediately apparent.

The event attracted visitors from across the country. Nguyen said she met people from several states who had traveled to Marymount specifically to see the monks and hear their message about mindfulness, forgiveness and the connection between inner peace and peace in the wider world.

The journey concluded Wednesday at the Lincoln Memorial. Hundreds of worshippers and thousands of other spectators gathered near the frozen Reflecting Pool as the monks delivered their final remarks.

“May the path to peace require no enemies,” Pannakara said. “Only human beings returning to morality, to responsibility, and to one another.”