My recent experience with the Buddhist Walk for Peace (February 4, 2026)

Here I share my recent experience at the Buddhist Walk for Peace rally in Caroline County, Virginia. I try to summarize the Venerable Bhikkhu Paññakāra's Dharma talk and a potentially upsetting incident that happened at the rally. (Content warning for religious trauma and most likely mental illness. Listener discretion advised.)I do my best to answer any possible questions about this Buddhist pilgrimage, including the lineages of the monks participating and how to find a similar Buddhist teacher near you (especially in Eastern Virginia)! I wish to extend my deepest gratitude to the organizers of the Buddhist Walk for Peace, both layperson and monastic, as well as all the local volunteers and law enforcement personnel who have kept these events safe and open to the public.Buddhist topics, groups, & temples discussed in this episode:Vietnamese BuddhismVipassana meditationTheravada BuddhismPure Land BuddhismBuddhist ordinationBuddhist monk robesBuddhist etiquetteChùa Hương Đạo (Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center, Fort Worth, Texas)Insight Meditation Community of Fredericksburg / Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of FredericksburgSaddhamma Meditation Society - Tâm Pháp Thiền Viện (Bumpass, Virginia)Ekoji Buddhist Temple (Burke, Virginia)If you are on Spotify, let me know in the episode comments any questions or related topics you would like to hear after listening!Music in this episode: "osaka" by snoozybeats, accessed from the Free Music Archive under a Creative Commons license (CC BY)Audio clip included in this episode was from a public event and intended for fair use, with commentary.