24 Monks and a Dog: Best Reality Show Ever

People around the world are taking to the streets these days in a big way, driven by feelings of urgency, anger, and hope, too. Maybe sometimes all three at once. And then there are the monks — twenty‑four of them, plus one determined little pup. They’ve chosen to walk not in opposition to anything, but in devotion to peace itself.

The group of saffron-robed Buddhist monks — and their now‑famous dog, Aloka — who are closing in on Washington, D.C., on their pilgrimage from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, began their “Walk for Peace” on October 26, 2025. Their journey eastward to the American capital will span roughly 2,300 miles through 10 states.

The monks describe the walk as a spiritual offering, not a protest. And their daily presence on the roadsides, quietly pacing forward through wind, rain, snow, and bitter cold, has become a national viral sensation. Their official Facebook page has 2.4 million followers and counting. Local TV stations send their camera crews out to meet the monks wherever they are on their route.

Once they arrive in Washington, around February 13, the monks will march to the U.S. Capitol to present a petition, urging Congress to officially recognize Vesak, the day of Buddha's birth and enlightenment, as a federal holiday.

But perhaps their finest accomplishment has been touching the hearts of the people they have met in the cities, towns, and villages along the way. Claudia Martin of Apex, North Carolina, and her kids waited to see the monks pass by on Route 64. She told a Religious News Service reporter, “At the end of the day we’re all people and we deserve to live in peace, here and all over the world.”

Photos (from top): hindustantimes.com; Travis Long/The News & Observer, Raleigh, NC.

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