The peace monks walk by silently. A brisk pace blurs their saffron and ochre robes into a ribbon of hope. May all beings be well. May all beings be happy. May all beings be at peace. At 24 degrees, the smoke of their breath stands in for incense, blessing this street.
The blue police lights at first arouse a fear reflex, later dissolved as a sheriff pins his badge to the monk’s sash, offering a bow, hands together in prayer position. These officers are local and love their community. Remember when we called them Peace Officers?
Today is my peaceful day. Thousands of everyday Americans line their route, waiting for hours in the cold for mere seconds of watching the monks stride by. Perhaps they take the daisy you offer. Perhaps they offer you a rose. The rhythm of their steps stands in for a wooden shingnya echoing through the temple of people lining both sides of the road. When did so many North Carolinians learn the Namaste gesture? Hands in prayer position, slight bow of respect. Often translated as ”The God in me greets the God in you.”
Their mission of peace began in Texas over ninety days ago. In Washington, DC, they will offer an alternative to those who wield power. They are not fishers of men, yet their bycatch multiplies every day. For a moment, this human feels peace, that mother, this policeman, that child, this person in a wheelchair.
Each accepts a gift made in their own image. An ember of the torch of peace has lit deep inside, waiting to be nourished at any moment by a focused breath – in, out. The spark ignites, flaring peace into their eyes, spreading to their neighbor, who can spread it to theirs, and on and on until the peaceful hearts overwhelm the hardened ones, disarm the angry, and succeed at waking up those sleepwalking to destruction.
If saffron, orange and ochre be the colors of this peaceful revolution, so be it. I am not a monk. But with this breath in, I declare: Today is my peaceful day. And with this breath out: May all beings be at peace.
The monks post their daily route on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/walkforpeaceusa
This is the link to their Fort Worth, Texas home https://dhammacetiya.com/walk-for-peace