On the morning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, first-year Elon Law student Tasha Lewis was not sleeping in. By 9:30 a.m., she was one of many attendees at the Truist Point Stadium in High Point, ready to welcome special visitors — over two dozen Buddhist Monks

“I love the fact that it’s on MLK day because he’s all about peace and nonviolent protest and the walk stands for those things,” Lewis said.  

The monks began their walk for peace on Oct. 26 in Fort Worth, Texas, and reached the Piedmont Triad at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 19. The journey, which covers nine states and ends in Washington, D.C., is a demonstration to encourage peace, loving kindness and compassion. 

Each day of their walk, the monks stop to deliver peace talks to crowds that have grown from small gatherings to ones like High Point —a standing-room-only baseball stadium. Spiritual leader of the walk, Bhikkhu Pannakara, said he never expected crowds as big as the one that filled the stadium for their midday talks.

“At the beginning, when I walked, I was just thinking maybe a thousand people I’d meet along the road,” Pannakara said. “And now look at this, you can’t even count.” 

Pannakara was presented with honors from city officials, such as the High Point city seal and badges from the High Point police and fire departments. This added to the growing collection Pannakara wears on his robes, which are tokens from each city the group visits. 

In his talk, Pannakara highlighted the importance of sending peace into the world, that positivity cycles back and spreads. He said he feels humanity is stuck in a cycle of tension and negativity, but there are ways to break the cycle. 

“All people here are suffering deeply, for so long,” Pannakara said. “ That is the reason why when you hear about this movement, you all come out to walk together with the venerable Monks.” 

High Point resident Joseph Holdip attended the monk’s visit to receive positivity after undergoing three surgeries since December. 

“I’ve gone through some things in the last couple of months that have absolutely humbled me,” Holdip said. “I’m in need of blessings and this is where you get them.” 

The walk continued around 2 p.m. and will pass through Greensboro and Raleigh in the coming days. 

Anjolina Fantaroni contributed to the reporting of this story.