Buddhist monks stop in Jackson on 2,300 mile walk to Washington, D.C.

Starting at Jackson's Quan Am Tinh Vien Buddhist temple just outside Jackson State University, the monks walked about 2.5 miles to the Capitol on Tuesday as part of their larger walk for peace in America, along compassion, unity and healing. 

During a speech downtown, monk Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara emphasized that peace starts with the individual.

"We cannot bring peace to you all," he told the crowd. "But we bring the message here to remind you that peace is always from within: with you." 

And the monks weren't alone on their walk. Lots of folks from Jackson joined in the two and a half miles, like Madeline Coates, a Jackson resident.  

During the walk and after, she explained that it was an exercise in mindfulness for her -- and a reminder of the importance of movements like this along with more direct action, like what she does as a community organizer.

"I am pretty familiar with you know our political climate and just how hard it can be on folks: poverty and things like that that just seem to get worse and worse every year," she told MPB while walking from the Buddhist temple. 

"So I'm glad that folks are actually out here and interested in this kind of thing here in Jackson -- and people from all over, not just Jackson. It's beautiful."

During the meeting at the Capitol, the monks were presented with a plaque and resolution from Beth Herzig, of Flowering Lotus Meditation, on the behalf of Mississippi's citizens, as well as pins from Nic Lott, Director of Communications for the mayor, on behalf of the city.

"Your journey embodies the timeless values of unity, compassion, and understanding that strengthen the bonds within all communities," said Lott. "Jackson is honored to be part of this national movement for peace, and we celebrate your commitment to spreading goodwill across America." 

Venerable Pannakara told reporters that their journey through Mississippi was incredibly welcoming, from Natchez through the state to Jackson.

"It truly [touched] us," he said. "We never expected this. But Mississippi [has] showed us so so much love. Thank you so much for that and may you all be well, happy and peaceful." 

As of Tuesday, they've traveled about 800 miles of the 2,300 mile trek to the nation's capitol. The monks camped out in Pearl before continuing on toward Alabama on what's expected to be a four-month trip.