'Walk for Peace' leader shares mindfulness mindset, insights at Virginia Randolph Education Center

Adopt peacefulness as a mindset – and act in a peaceful way toward yourself, those closest to you, your community and the world.

That was the message Feb. 3 shared by Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Pannakara to a group of about 100 people gathered at the Virginia Randolph Education Center on Mountain Road for a 45-minute Peace Talk.

“Tell the universe that today is going to be my peaceful day,” Pannakara told the crowd. “Imagine if all the people in this world, doing the same thing, just spread that message of peace to the universe, instead of hate, instead of angry, instead of greedy and delusion. . . So now we change it – [share] just kindness, compassion and peace to the universe. It will shower back now with love and kindness and compassion and peace, so that this world will be bloomed and fill us with peace.”

Pannakara, who was born in Vietnam and has lived in the U.S. for 30 years, is leading the "Walk for Peace," a 2,300-mile trek from the Hương Đạo Vipassanā Bhāvanā Center (a Vietnamese American Buddhist institution located in Fort Worth, Texas) to Washington, D.C.

The purpose of the Walk for Peace is to raise awareness of inner peace and mindfulness and to increase peaceful interactions across America and the world. The monks have gained a widespread following internationally as word of their journey has spread through social media postings and word of mouth. (The Walk for Peace’s live map has received more than 29 million views and its Facebook page has more than 2.6 million followers.)

Tuesday morning, Pannakara and his group of 19 monks from Texas, Vietnam, France, Laos and Thailand walked 11 miles from Virginia Union University in Richmond to Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, making a stop at St. Joseph’s Villa in Henrico before arriving at the Vien Giac Buddhist Temple, located next door to the Virginia Randolph Educational Center.

The practitioners welcomed the monks and fed the travelers, the congregation and a number of other dignitaries and visitors who came to hear the monks after they rested briefly.

On Monday, the Walk for Peace entered Richmond from Chesterfield, with thousands accompanying the monks across the Manchester Bridge and thousands more joining the monks for a “Peace Rally” on the steps of Richmond City Hall.

While most of the monks' 101^st day through Henrico County was spent on the move, walking at brisk clip to only the sounds of quiet footsteps and occasional comments from crowds of onlookers and thousands of well-wishers, the event at the Virginia Randolph Education Center paused the movement briefly.

An audience that included devotees of the Buddhist Temple next door, volunteers with the Peace Walk, Henrico County officials, media and others curious Virginians, listened raptly to Pannakara’s words detailing his and Buddhism’s main theoretical and practical ideas about peace.

“Add awareness to each and every breath going in,” Pannakara said. “Each and every breath going out. You breathe in. You're aware of that. Breath going in. Breathe out. Aware of that breath going out. Pay full attention to each and every breath.”

His breath is what he focuses on as he walks, he said.

He emphasized being satisfied, calm and at peace with oneself and being satisfied with simple moments with friends and family as a way to reach peace, extending calm and kindness to those nearby, the greater community and the world.

Even to people who have cursed the monks on the road and revved their engines generating black smoke, Pannakara said he replies with a smile.

“May you be well, be happy and be peaceful. That is how we practice mindfulness and compassion and loving kindness. We don't need to add more problem to this world.”

Along with the importance of being happy with what we have, he emphasized the importance of practicing mindfulness, avoiding the distraction of cellphones and other devices and adopting peacefulness as a mindset.

“Why are we here for peace?” he asked. “It means that we’re looking for it, and we deeply need it.”

Key to finding peace is a feeling of acceptance of ourselves and tampering expectations, he said.

“If you expect more for your life, means you have to work a lot more,” Pannakara said. “It doesn't mean that we don't need to work. We don't expect we have to have more. We can have more. We work more, we can have more. But when is enough? Knowing when is enough is very important.”

Audience members who were a part of the Buddhist community said they felt proud of their role of personally welcoming the Walk for Peace and a venerable group of monks who put so much time and effort into a message of calm.

“It's very emotional for me. We live in a world where there’s so many chaos around the world. It's great to see that people can come together wanting the same goal, it's just peace and compassion and respect for one another,” said Sophia Kim, who was born in Cambodia and lives in Amelia County, expressing pride that Buddhist monks representing her background and practice were catalyzing people with their representation of peace and love. “It's just so touching to see the outcome and the outpouring of emotion.”

Another audience member, Nikki Lewis, said she attended Tuesday’s Peace Talk after joining the Monday Peace Rally for the message.

“There's so much disagreement, violence and love is the answer,” said Lewis who practices meditation and yoga for the focus and transformative contemplation. “This is a good way to start bringing together people from different faiths, different backgrounds and to hear their message about simple things we can do.”

She said she was moved to tears after the monks passed her on Broad Street in downtown Richmond, feeling their energy conveying determination and peace without any signs.

Many in the audience echoed the feelings that in a world in chaos, hearing a strong opposing message was powerful and unique.

Fifteen-year-old Henrico County student Gileana sat rapt in the front row of the auditorium with her mother Nina Foster.

“I think that their message is so great. In a world, especially in America, where there's so much hate going on. We need the message of peace and love in the world,” Gileana said. “He talked about how we're all going to the same place, and that we should all just love each other and focus more on giving each other love and showing each other peace instead of being mean and hateful.”

At the beginning of the ceremony, Pannakara accepted a proclamation from the Henrico County Board of Supervisors and small gifts that included flowers, pins from Henrico law enforcement and EMS that he wears on a front sash along with those of other localities on the Walk for Peace path.

 And when he finished speaking, monks distributed peace bracelets to the civic leaders and the audience members as a symbol of protection, good luck, and health, and as a gesture of blessings.

For Three Chopt District Supervisor Misty Roundtree, the experience of sitting on the stage with Pannakara, absorbing his message and seeing residents’ reactions to the monks’ peace walk was emotional. To her, the crowds that had gathered to hear the message felt rare and sacred. Roundtree brought her godson, who is receiving treatment for brain cancer, to be in a space of peace and healing.

“Being in this space and knowing what they represent, it felt like a safe place to let down walls that I feel like we walk around with all day,” Roundtree said of her time in close proximity with the monks and the members of the Vien Giac Buddhist Temple. “I needed it. And I think a lot of people needed it. I was not the only one that was emotional. There were tears flowing. I wouldn't be me if I did not remark upon the fact that this is what diversity brings to our area.”

Varina District Supervisor Tyrone Nelson, who also serves as a pastor, felt the themes of the spirit of peace, slowing down, trying to enjoy life, not being so busy and doing things one at a time connected to his faith.

“Taking more time to actually talk about peace, too, is something that we all should be thinking about,” Nelson said. “We’d be a better world if we were a more peaceful people.”

As the monks departed from the Virginia Randolph Educational Center, they greeted well-wishers along the road who had waited for hours to see the group as they headed north for a nine-mile walk to Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, where they spent the night.

According to the Walk for Peace overview map, the monks are expected to reach Washington D.C. Feb. 10.

Dina Weinstein is the Citizen’s community vitality reporter and a Report for America corps member, covering housing, health and transportation. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.