Face to face with a Walk For Peace

I had the honor of sitting down with Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the leader of the Monks Walk for Peace during their time is South Carolina. After 15 weeks on the road and thousands of miles walked, the monks have now reached Washington for one simple mission: to spread peace. Along the way they have held many open programs along the way, but they have not done traditional interviews. So this conversation meant a lot to me. This wasn’t a press conference. This wasn’t a set. This was just a conversation between two people in the activities center of Catawba Baptist Church. One camera with a nearly dead batter, two metal chairs, and a folding table at 10 o'clock at night. I wanted to share this full conversation so you can hear how the reception to the monks changed as the journey went on. They became more welcome. More people showed up. The more people understood the mission, the more they embraced it. So I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to take the time to listen and learn before we pass judgment or become angry. This walk brought peace to so many communities, but we don’t have to wait for the monks to remind us. Peace is always an option if we choose it.