Whether on a long road or a church stage, Aloka remains a steadfast support to the venerable monks, proving that peace is a journey shared by all beings...

Peace Dog Photo Credit: Palm Jariya

Aloka the Peace Dog 

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This morning, our faithful companion Aloka took his place right on the stage during the Peace Gathering at Legacy Church in Wytheville, VA.

 

While the venerable monks stood to share their message, Aloka sat on the ground right beside them. He looked truly dedicated to the mission. Whether on a long road or a church stage, Aloka remains a steadfast support to the venerable monks, proving that peace is a journey shared by all beings.

Photo Credit: Palm Jariya

 

May you and all beings be well, happy and at peace.

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Aloka the Peace Dog 🐕—the loyal companion with the peace heart on his forehead. Walking the 2,300-mile Walk for Peace journey with the Venerable Monks across America. Spreading peace and loving-kindness, one paw-step at a time. 🐾  

Aloka the Peace Dog 

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The Story of Aloka - Many people often ask about Aloka’s breed! While we aren't exactly sure, we estimate he is about 4 years old and likely an Indian Pariah dog.

 

His journey is truly special—he was once a stray wandering in India who began following the Venerable Monks. He walked with them for over 100 days across India, very much like the #WalkForPeace we are on today! 

 

Though his exact birthday remains a mystery, his loyalty and peaceful spirit are clear to everyone he meets.

 

May you and all beings be happy and at peace.  

 

 

The venerable monks and Aloka have returned home. May their mission for peace stay with all of us. #AlokaThePeaceDog

 

Aloka the Peace Dog 

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On Day 112, our home temple, Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center, was filled with overwhelming joy! During the Homecoming ceremony, Aloka took a moment for quiet contemplation, settling into a beautiful peace pose right in the middle of the event.

 

He seemed so happy to finally be home, surrounded by the thousands of people who gathered to welcome the venerable monks and him back. It was a powerful sight to see so many hearts joined together, ready to continue the path of peace as one community.

 

May you and all beings be well, happy and at peace.

#WalkForPeace #PeaceWalk #BuddhistMonks

  

"Yesterday, I was honored to welcome the Buddhist monks to Washington National Cathedral, to learn from their example, and as Christians to recommit ourselves to the way of peace for all people. We are so grateful, so inspired, and so grateful that the monks are calling out the best in all of us as they make their pilgrimage among us. Their commitment to embody and bring peace to us all. Our response–across all that seems to divide us as a nation–reveals how united we are in our longing for peace, God willing, our readiness for peace. The monks, like all our spiritual masters of all faiths, including Jesus, remind us that true peace begins in the human heart, and in genuine peace offerings to those we love, the we struggle to love, and even those we would consider our adversaries." Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington DC, USA

 

Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.

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Yesterday, I was honored to welcome the Buddhist monks to Washington National Cathedral, to learn from their example, and as Christians to recommit ourselves to the way of peace for all people. We are so grateful, so inspired, and so grateful that the monks are calling out the best in all of us as they make their pilgrimage among us.

 

Their commitment to embody and bring peace to us all. Our response–across all that seems to divide us as a nation–reveals how united we are in our longing for peace, God willing, our readiness for peace. The monks, like all our spiritual masters of all faiths, including Jesus, remind us that true peace begins in the human heart, and in genuine peace offerings to those we love, the we struggle to love, and even those we would consider our adversaries.

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Buddha's Teaching

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THE WALK IS OVER. THE MESSAGE HAS JUST BEGUN.

After more than 2,300 miles on foot, Buddhist monks have reached Washington, D.C., completing a historic Walk for Peace... a journey of discipline, compassion, and hope that touched hearts across the world.

In a time filled with anger, division, and endless noise, they chose silence.

They did not protest.
They did not argue.
They did not demand.

They simply walked.

Step by step, through heat, storms, and freezing cold, they carried a message that needed no slogans: peace is lived, not spoken.

A Living Prayer in Washington, D.C.

At Washington National Cathedral, faith leaders and thousands of people from different cultures and traditions gathered together in unity. It was more than an event. It was a living prayer — a reminder that beyond language, religion, and borders, the human heart still longs for harmony, safety, and compassion.

Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara shared a simple truth: walking together for peace is a moment to remember for a lifetime, and a path meant for the whole world.

Along the journey, Aloka the Peace Dog walked quietly beside the monks, touching hearts everywhere and reminding people that peace is not complicated. Peace is trust. Peace is kindness. Peace is silent love walking beside us.

If they can walk 2,300 miles for peace, perhaps we can take one step today.... one breath, one pause, one kinder choice.

Because sometimes, the quietest steps echo the farthest… and change the world.

‘Tunnel vision’: how Israel is using archaeology to win US support for goals- Scientists say Netanyahu government and its US backers are trying to construct a history shorn of all complexity

 "The settler group Elad, which established the City of David archaeological site on expropriated Palestinian land in the Silwan district, has presented the road as the route taken by Jews to the temple during the lifetime of Jesus Christ.

The enterprise was declared illegal by the UN as it was built on occupied territory as part of a broader effort to dispossess Palestinians, and a UN commission of inquiry last year denounced its use of archaeology for political ends.

“Despite its rich, heterogeneous history, the narrative presented at the City of David site focuses only on the site’s Jewish history … disregarding all other periods and cultures,” the commission said.

Alon Arad, the head of an independent group of archaeologists, Emek Shaveh, pointed out that the “Pilgrimage Road” tunnel had already been opened once before, in Donald Trump’s first term, by his first ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, using a sledgehammer to break down a wall in 2019.

“This whole festival now is completely bizarre,” Arad said. “The fact that the settlers and the evangelists and other rightwing Americans found each other a perfect match is not news. But this ceremony is just bad archaeology and another proof that the whole City of David archaeological park project has nothing to do with either archaeology or heritage.”

A large stone stepped structure on the site has been claimed by some archaeologists as the biblical City of David, but the claim is hotly disputed. Arad also accuses the Elad organisation of using discredited methods

“Archaeologists stopped digging in tunnels at the beginning of the 20th century,” he said. “The fact that they are excavating in tunnels under people’s houses without their permission makes this whole thing bad archaeology. Once you excavate in a tunnel, you have a very narrow perspective. This whole branding of the Pilgrimage Road is an attempt to Judaise the entire heritage of this region. It is the best example of the term ‘tunnel vision’.” "

Julian Borger in Jerusalem

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/25/israel-archaeology-jerusalem-history-us 

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