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Transcript

THE WALK FOR PEACE · The Karen Kenney Show

0:01
Karen Kenney: Hey you guys. Welcome to the Karen Kenney
0:04
show. I'm super duper excited to be here with you today. And I'm
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also not gonna lie, I don't know about you guys, but my 2026 is
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it's off. It is off to an emotionally rough start, man.
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We've had some things happen over here, in my world and in
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the greater world as well. And we're going to get into the show
0:27
you probably saw the title, the walk for peace. And just a heads
0:31
up that I'm going to rely heavily on some notes in this
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episode. Most of you who listen don't even see if I'm using
0:37
notes or whatever, but I always like to be honest, and I like to
0:41
be transparent. But those of you who watch the show, you might
0:44
see my eyes dot down a couple of times because it's wicked
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important to me, especially when I'm talking about other people,
0:51
whether it's their quotes, their work, whatever dates things, I
0:55
just things I want to I want to get shit right. You know,
0:57
because it matters and the truth matters in this day and age, you
1:01
wouldn't think the truth matters so much because of our current
1:04
administration and and social media and AI and everything else
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that is going on, but to me and to many others, the truth still
1:15
matters. So I like to, I like to get things right when I can. So
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forgive me if you hear some rustling of papers as I switch
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things around with my my notes here. Okay, so just a little
1:27
update. So those of you I know a lot of people who follow me on
1:31
social media or who are friends with me online or whatever, one
1:35
of the things I'm really well known for, you know, I often
1:38
joke and I'm like, What do you think somebody once asked me,
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What do you think they'll say about you after you die? And I'm
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like, I think they're probably going to say she loved animals.
1:48
She tried to help people. She smelled good. The smelling good
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is a story for another day. But those of you who follow me know
2:00
how much I love, love, love animals, and that I am the mom
2:04
of many furry kids, and we are now down to two. We are down to
2:10
bunchy and our three year old pug and Toby pajamas, our 19
2:17
year old cat and our 15 year old pup, Scoots, my guts. We just
2:22
had to say goodbye to him. So I'm going to try to keep it
2:24
together and not not ball my eyes out while I'm trying to do
2:28
this podcast. And I also recently lost a childhood a dear
2:32
childhood friend. He was my one of my childhood sweethearts. I
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was with him for a very long time, and he just passed away
2:38
this week too. So I'm just getting repeatedly punched in
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the face by life. And on top of it, we just have all the chaos
2:47
and the turmoil in the world. And the one of, one of just one
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of the latest brutalities that we have seen, of course, is this
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the murder of Renee good by the ice agent who shot her in cold
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blood in the face three times and then called her a fucking
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bitch. Let me. Let me tell you something. As the kid of a
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murdered Mother, I have like such low tolerance for violence,
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and I remember that one of my teachers who once said to me
3:23
about me, and it was this very aha moment for me, because it's
3:27
gonna it kind of and I'm telling you all this for a reason. I'm
3:30
telling you all this because it connects to today's show. And I
3:34
said to him, you know, when I see people like who are being
3:39
bullies, or people who are picking on on beings human or
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animals that are smaller than them, weaker than them, don't
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have a voice, don't have the physical strength, whatever.
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When I see people who are cruel and unkind and vicious, it
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brings up something in me, and I said, and it makes me so angry.
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It makes me feel like, like, ah, like, and he says, oh, and the
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way he described it was, he's like, you have a violence
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towards violence. And I thought that that was just like, like,
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when he said that, it was literally, like, my brain, like
4:12
my my mind was it wasn't just blown, it just like, expanded
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out, and it gave me this viewpoint. And one of the things
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that I've thought about a lot is how the way that we end violence
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is not just like the way that we end violence is by eradicating
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every bit of violence within ourselves, in our minds and our
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thoughts and our language and our habits and our speech. You
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know what I mean. And so this is something I have thought about
4:38
for a really long time, especially as a yoga teacher,
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because the foundation of yoga the very first Yama, y, A, M, a,
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the very first Yama of yoga is Ahimsa, which means non
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violence, non harm, non killing, right? It's like compassion in
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thoughts, words, deeds, actions, the whole thing. So I've been
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thinking about. This a lot, as we're seeing all of this
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horrific stuff just go down out there. And you know, it's been a
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very emotional start to my 2026 and the one thing I'll say about
5:14
me, though, is that I see how easy it is to get down, to get
5:23
depressed, to feel helpless, to feel hopeless, to feel like it's
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all just a cluster fucking a shit show, and like, how are we
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going to navigate all this? But I will tell you this, I do not
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give up. There are moments when it is going to feel like there
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is nothing to do but despair. And I have so many incredible
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teachers in my lineage and just in my life. And obviously
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teachers I've learned from like Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, and
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Martin Luther King, Jr, and like all kinds of people that
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practiced this belief of non violence. And so when I start to
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feel like a little overwhelmed, right? So, like, Vicki with 2k
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from Lawrence, you know that part of me that's kind of like,
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mouthy and tough and sassy and resilient as fuck. You know,
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she, like, steps forward, and she's like, Yeah, we're not
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gonna let the bastards get us down, right? So my whole thing
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is, when I need some inspiration, when I'm starting
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to feel like life is getting really, really hard, I look in
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the direction of spiritual teachers and books and
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characters and all kinds of things, right, like anybody or
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anything at work, nature, my sweetie, music, whatever. I
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think there's 1000 ways that we can draw inspiration. And right
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now, I know a lot of people are deeply disturbed. They're
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feeling hopeless, they're feeling helpless, they're
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tumbling into despair. And I want to just share with you
6:53
something that has been bringing me great inspiration and great
6:57
peace. And it is the current if you have not, I'm telling you if
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you if you have missed, if you have missed, have not heard of
7:06
right, the monks currently, who are doing the Buddhist monks who
7:10
are doing the walk for peace. If you are have missed this and you
7:14
are missing out, and I'm telling you about it, it's so important.
7:17
This is so important and so helpful and hopeful that I am
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doing a whole podcast dedicated to this. I think it's important.
7:26
I think it matters. And I know it's not just me. There are
7:30
millions of people now. They have gained so many followers
7:34
and fans, and really what I'm feeling is a collective need for
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some sort of alternative. And this is what I tell people in
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the nest all the time. This is what I tell my spiritual
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coaching clients and my mentoring people is I always
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say, Look, our job isn't to look out at the world and try to
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change the world, right? Our work is to look within
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ourselves. The change work, the transformational work is always
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an inside job, and the greatest thing that we can do right is to
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not try and get the world to behave the way that we want it
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to behave. We get to be the living, breathing alternative.
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We get to be the opposite of what we're seeing that we don't
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like. So if there's a lot of fear in the world, we get to be
8:26
the loving presence. You get to be the alternative of you get to
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be that alternative right to the craziness, to the chaos, to the
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violence, to the hatred, we get to be the loving presence. We
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get to be the peaceful presence. And right now what we're seeing,
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and I'm going to tell you a little bit about the monks and
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what they're doing and why, and a little bit of who they are and
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all of that. But if you haven't seen it, I'll just give you like
8:50
some of the basics. So So right now, there's a group of Buddhist
8:55
monks who are walking with their dog, Aloka. He's adorable, and
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they originally picked him up in India when they were doing a
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walk for peace in India, and he followed them the whole time,
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and they took him back to the United States. A loka means
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light. It means brilliance, right? And so that's what they
9:14
named him. And I can just tell you I'm not alone in this, that
9:17
there are millions of people, hundreds of 1000s of people, I
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think, right now, Americans who are being captivated by this
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whole process of them walking for peace, and I think a lot of
9:27
people can think of this as a protest, but it's not, excuse
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me, it's not really viewed as a protest. It does have meaning.
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There is a message that they're spreading. There is a purpose to
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it. But I want to be clear, it's not like they're walking in
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protest to one particular thing. So it's a group of Buddhist
9:46
monks. They started off. I think I want to say that there was 19
9:50
of them, and I'm going to tell you more about why there is now
9:53
18 of them.
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So they're doing a 2300 mile walk, and they're walking.
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Walking from Fort Worth Texas, from their monastery to
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Washington, DC. And these are just the facts, right? They're
10:07
going to cross 10 states. It's a 2300 mile walk. It's a
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pilgrimage for peace, for unity and for healing. They started on
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October 26 and they expected to complete their journey, their
10:22
trek, by around mid February, like February 13, I think, is
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what they're shooting for. And one of their goals, well, their
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main goal, this is their main Why, is to promote compassion
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and mindfulness and non violence and connection wherever they go,
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all across America, and they're kind of offering a respite from
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all of this division and and I'm so inspired by them. But like
10:50
anything, you know, if you guys listen to this show regularly,
10:53
you know that I kind of like to do my homework, and I like to
10:56
find out a little bit more, and I remember, so I googled it,
11:01
because the first like, walk for peace that I kind of remember
11:05
was, like, there must have been a new I don't know how I saw it.
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Maybe I learned about it at BU but in one of my classes. But
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there was a Cambodian monk. The first time I remember kind of
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learning about this was back in the 90s, the beginning of the
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90s, and there was a Cambodian Buddhist monk, and he was
11:25
leading peace walks during really violent political
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turmoil. And his name was, and I, and forgive me if I don't
11:33
pronounce these exactly right, but gosh, Ananda. And you know
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when you Googled it, because I was like googling this, because
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I wanted to present you guys with the right information, and
11:43
hopefully you're going to stick around for this, because I find
11:46
this so inspiring. Right To me, this is like, when I think of
11:49
like, things that inspire me, and I think of people like David
11:52
Goggins, who is so hardcore and so kick ass. To me, the monks
11:56
are like the David Goggins monks, except they're like 180
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degrees different in terms of their their peacefulness, right,
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and how they present, but there is a resilience and a toughness
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that is beyond, that is just beyond. So let's go back to
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Goshen. And does so he began what is often called the first
12:21
peace walk. But it can't be the first peace walk, because monks
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have been doing this for 1000s of years, that they will go out
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and they will walk, and they will make their presence right.
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They will, they will kind of be in communities and cross your
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communities that are, whether it's being war torn or they just
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need, they need the presence of the monks, right? So a peace
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walk is called, I think it's Dhamma yitra. Dhamma yitra, and
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he started, so, gosh, Ananda started to do this in 1992 and
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the Dhamma yitra is a walking, meditative pilgrim of truth, and
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it's in the tradition of the Buddha, and Buddha often walked
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as part of his spiritual tradition. I think there's
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something that is so beautiful about that. And those of us
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nowadays who I know that artists and creatives and writers, we
13:16
love to often walk, because it's when we get really great ideas
13:19
and our minds just kind of open. So I can totally see how walking
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could be part of the spiritual, you know, discipline, and how so
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many of us now today who walk, we feel something, something
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changes and something shifts inside of us. And to me, you
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know, walking can totally also be a part of our spiritual
13:38
tradition. And one of the things that go shenanda said is that
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they needed to journey to the places of human suffering. Now,
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if this is why the monks walked in, the Buddha walked, right is
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to go to the places of suffering, I have to believe
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it's to alleviate, to help alleviate that suffering. And we
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are a country right now that is deeply suffering in so many
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ways. So I think it is so powerful and so potent and so
14:04
profound that the monks currently, who are currently
14:08
doing this, have taken this upon themselves to do this in their
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tradition. And he said that they need to go to the places of
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human suffering, from refugee camps to battlefields, and to
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make them, make those places their temples. And I Googled
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this, this is what I learned. It says the walk is sought to
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transform the Cambodian people in society, and it is said that
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wars of the heart always take longer to cool than the barrel
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of a gun, and we must heal through love, and we must go
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slowly, step by step. How incredible is that I'm going to
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say that again, wars of the heart always take longer to cool
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than the barrel of a gun, and we must heal through love. And we
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must go slowly, step by step. And I don't know about you, but
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the first time that I saw the monks on TV, the ones who are
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currently walking from Texas to DC, every time I see them, I
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start to cry. I know I cannot be alone in this something deep
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inside of me, something in my heart, in my soul, something
15:22
deep in the fabric, in the essence of me is moved, is just
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so deeply moved by their presence. It's so powerful. And
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to come back to Goshen Anda, he started doing these walks back
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in like, the Cambodian wars and stuff like that. And he said he
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started doing like 125 mile route. And along the way, it
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says 1000s of people would come out to encourage the walkers and
15:53
to receive traditional Buddhist blessings. And in each village,
15:56
goshananda would teach about peace and reconciliation and
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even the soldiers from all factions would lay down their
16:04
weapons to pray and to be blessed, you guys, that's like
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us in this country right now and all this divisiveness and all of
16:12
this we are like. We are like soldiers right standing there
16:17
with our weapons, and we might not be physically shooting each
16:21
other, although apparently we are right, apparently we are but
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I'm talking about like everyday humans, neighbors who live
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across the street from each other. Most people are doing it
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by closing their hearts, by casting judgment by there's so
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much separation right now, and when it says here that even the
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soldiers from all the different factions would lay down their
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weapons to pray and to be blessed, this is what this is
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reminding me of as these current monks, these current day monks
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are walking through the 10 states and all the towns, people
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of every color and creed and religion and faith tradition, no
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faith tradition, whatever, people are showing up by the
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1000s, and to just surround them, and to sometimes walk with
17:09
them, and to hear them speak and to learn from them. And there is
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so much, so much to learn from them. And the last thing I'm
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going to share about Maha goshinanda Is this quote that he
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said, he said, We must remove the land mines in our hearts
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which prevent us from making peace. The land mines in the
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heart are greed, hatred and delusion, and we can overcome
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greed with the weapon of generosity, and we can overcome
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hatred with the weapon of loving kindness, and we can overcome
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delusion with the weapon of Wisdom. Peace making stats with
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us. Peace making stats with us. And I was thinking back, you
17:57
know, because right now, as I have a new space in Concord,
18:01
Concord, New Hampshire. I just opened a new space. And I have
18:04
one room where I do private one to one work for mentoring and
18:09
coaching, Thai Yoga, massage, Thai Yoga, body work, private
18:13
yoga, all those things. And then I have a separate room where I
18:16
do like group yoga classes and stuff. And when we when I do tie
18:22
yoga body work, traditionally known as Thai Yoga massage. To
18:27
me, what tie yoga massage is, and this is what I was taught
18:29
from one of my teachers, Cam Tai Chau. It is the physical
18:33
expression, the physical application of what we call meta
18:38
or loving kindness. And for me right now, being able to put my
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hands on people in this loving and compassionate and, you know,
18:48
healing and therapeutic way, this is one of the ways that I
18:52
get to practice peace. I get to be the presence of peace. I get
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to be the alternative for all the fucking insanity that's
18:58
happening out there, all the bloodshed and horror and
19:01
violence is to be able to be a loving presence into into
19:07
compassionately share, right, loving kindness through physical
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touch. You know, it's a very powerful, powerful thing, and so
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you can tell I'm kind of jumping around a lot today, because my
19:18
mind, I have so I have just so many thoughts about what is
19:22
happening in the world, and I'm so I do. I just feel so grateful
19:27
right now, even though I'm not going to get to see them. I
19:30
mean, unless I fly to DC or something like that, but just
19:33
getting to see the monks online every day as we're seeing them
19:36
walk towards DC, it's absolutely incredible.
19:41
And when you see them walking, they always walk in like single
19:46
file. And we're seeing them walk some of them barefoot. Some of
19:50
them are walking in like cushioned shoes, like Hocus like
19:53
sneakers. Some of them are walking in like socks that have
19:56
like rubber bottoms. The leader of the group. Uh, he tends to
20:01
walk barefoot, and then he sometimes has to bandage his
20:04
feet up because they're stepping on all kinds of hot, hot
20:08
objects, right? That it just happened to be in the road, and
20:10
whether that's rocks or nails or like whatever comes up or
20:13
whatever. And so let's, let's talk about them. Now. Let's talk
20:17
directly about these monks, the Buddhist monks, that are doing
20:20
this and again, right? 2300 miles, it's a pilgrimage for
20:25
peace and unity and healing, walking with their dog. Aloka
20:28
from Fort Worth Texas to Washington, DC and again. Why
20:32
are they doing this? To promote compassion, mindfulness, non
20:36
violence and connection across America, offering a respite from
20:39
this national division. So as I said before, this walking is a
20:45
form of spiritual practice. It is a meditative tradition. And
20:50
every place they go, they're also teaching mindfulness.
20:53
They're teaching about forgiveness, wherever they stop
20:55
and talk to people, and people are offering them food. People
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are walking along, you know, behind them and around them,
21:04
they're bowing, you know, hands together and then bowing their
21:08
heads. Because monks are not. Most monks are not allowed to
21:11
touch people, especially women. Male monks are not, you know,
21:14
they take a vow of celibacy, so they don't, not allowed to touch
21:17
women. So one of the most respectful thing you see a lot
21:19
of people doing is just putting their hands together and then,
21:22
like bowing their heads, and they're spreading so much peace
21:26
right now, and they're connecting with people, and
21:28
they're spreading so much hope, and they're inspiring people to
21:31
have mindfulness in their own lives. One of their goals, also,
21:36
I think it's important to mention this, is that they have
21:39
a goal to go to DC to ask Congress to pass legislation.
21:44
They want to ask Congress to recognize the Buddha's day of
21:47
birth and his day of enlightenment as a federal
21:50
holiday. And one of the things that's really important about
21:54
this is this legislation. And I'm like, I'm like, I made notes
21:57
to myself to make sure I say this The monks when they arrive
22:02
in Washington plan to seek recognition of VSAC, the day
22:06
which marks the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, as
22:08
a national holiday. In doing so, they're not looking, I want to
22:12
be very clear. They're not looking to quote, unquote,
22:15
convert people to Buddhism. It's not about that at all. Because,
22:18
listen, it says doing so would acknowledge VSAC as a day of
22:21
reflection, compassion and unity for all people, regardless of
22:28
their faith, regardless of their faith, it's like so fantastic.
22:33
And along the way, as they're making this match, they're
22:36
trying to promote peace. And their highest priority is
22:39
connection. Their highest priority is connecting with
22:43
people. I don't think this is most people's highest priority
22:47
right now. I don't know about you, but it doesn't seem to me
22:50
that most people's highest priority. A lot of people right
22:52
now want to be right and they want to be rich. They're not
22:56
really thinking about their neighbors. They're not really
22:58
thinking about right, like how they can help their fellow
23:02
neighbor. There's a lot of people out there who are look
23:05
at, I am annoyingly positive, I am annoyingly happy, and I am
23:10
not going down. I'm not going down without a fight, people.
23:14
But I think there's something for us to learn from, from these
23:17
monks I've actually thought about, I'm like, How can I do
23:21
like, a little local walk for peace? And I started thinking
23:23
about it, and I'm like, what I have to reach out to the police
23:26
or the city? Do I have to plan it like, can you just gather? I
23:30
know we can gather. But I'm like, how would I do this in a
23:33
safe way? I really, my brain is really churning and burning on
23:36
this, you guys. So maybe I'll be able to figure out, like a
23:39
little, I don't know, just so like, a little, I don't know, I
23:42
don't know how to explain it, other than I feel like, like I
23:46
want to walk. I can't go to them and walk with them, but what I
23:48
can do, and this is what they ask, is to promote mindfulness
23:51
and peace in your own life. But I also thought it'd be really
23:54
cool to gather together a bunch of people and just do a little
23:57
walk for peace in my own neighborhood. So I'm gonna think
23:59
about this. I'm gonna see if I can figure out how to do
24:02
something here. And something here and conquer but I want to
24:06
say this. So the guy, the guy the lead monk, who is kind of
24:10
doing this right? So, as I told you, this is a meditative
24:13
tradition that is really common in South Asian countries. It's
24:16
resonating, I think, here so much now, because our whole
24:20
foundation feels like it's falling apart. You know, the way
24:23
that the Constitution is kind of being shit on in so many ways,
24:26
and the way that people are trying to rewrite history, the
24:28
way that, like there is so much racism and homophobia and
24:34
xenophobia and hatred like that, is alive and well here in the
24:38
United States. And I think seeing these very peaceful,
24:41
beautiful humans walking across again, being the living,
24:45
breathing, embodied example of what could be different, of how
24:49
it could really be. It strikes something in our hearts. It
24:52
strikes something in our soul. It's a very powerful thing. And
24:56
the Venerable biku Panu Karen, he's the leader. He. Says this,
25:00
my hope is when the walk ends, the people we meet will continue
25:05
practicing mindfulness and find peace. He's the one I told you
25:10
who is trekking about barefoot. So every place he goes, he's
25:13
teaching about mindfulness, he's teaching about forgiveness. He's
25:16
offering healing at every stop. And I don't want to tell you
25:20
every single thing about them, because my hope is that, because
25:23
I could just tell you all the different things. But my hope is
25:26
that your curiosity, something in you, if you have not heard
25:29
about them, gets lit up, and that you go and find out and you
25:32
see how this can apply to your own life. Maybe it will move
25:36
your heart too. Maybe you will find a sense of inspiration and
25:40
peace and hope in what you're seeing them do as they do this,
25:46
you know, here's a quote from an ABC article. It says, There's
25:49
something traumatic and heart wrenching happening in our
25:52
country every day. And this woman, she describes herself as
25:57
spiritual. You know, she says spiritual, but not religious. We
26:02
hear that all the time, right? And this is what she said.
26:04
There's something horrible and heart wrenching and traumatic
26:07
happening in our country every day. And she goes, and I looked
26:10
into their eyes, talking about the monks, I looked into their
26:12
eyes and I saw peace. They're putting their bodies through
26:16
such physical torture, and yet they radiate peace. You guys,
26:21
there's like, 1000 lessons I'm learning from these guys, as I'm
26:25
watching them walk. They travel very light. They carry very
26:30
little. People offer them gifts. People offer them water, people
26:33
offer them food. They really only travel with what they can
26:36
actually physically carry, you know. So there were 19 monks
26:42
that started this. I think this is important to say. And even
26:46
though it can be really easy, and I'm going to come back to
26:48
another point that I that was just made, but even though it
26:51
can be really easy to just be like, Oh, love and light, the
26:54
monks are the peace walks. Namaste all day, right, no, this
26:58
journey has not been without loss and without scary moments.
27:02
And on November 19, while they were walking in Texas, their
27:08
escort escort vehicle. So they have a vehicle that, like,
27:12
follows along. You know, there's sometimes they get police
27:15
escorts sometimes, but there's like an RV that travels behind
27:18
them from when they need medical care, I'm assuming, a bathroom,
27:21
like whatever. And then they also have other Escort vehicles,
27:23
and one of their escort vehicles was hit. So there was a
27:27
distracted truck driver who hit them, hit the vehicle, which
27:31
then it injured two of the monks. And one of the one of the
27:35
19 monks who was walking ended up losing his leg. Got injured
27:40
so bad that they had to amputate part of his leg. You know, when
27:44
I looked him up to learn more about him and what happened to
27:47
him, to see him now in a wheelchair, wishing he could get
27:52
back out there and not harboring any hatred towards the person
27:59
who hit him, he's already forgiven him. He sees the loss
28:03
of his leg as as like, almost like an offering, as almost
28:09
like, you know, just part of what happened. He holds no
28:12
malice. He holds no violence. He holds no hatred in his heart. It
28:16
is so remarkable, you guys, we get mad if somebody cuts us off
28:20
in traffic. We get mad if somebody uses a tone of voice
28:23
that we don't like. We're so fast to just like, judge people
28:27
and hate people and other people and just be so unkind and
28:31
impatient and awful to one another. And yet, these, these,
28:36
these monks, are just like, showing all of us, not just me,
28:42
I'm so deeply moved by them, you could have somebody could have
28:45
already signed off, like, why am I listening to her talk about
28:47
the monks? But I don't know what to tell you. If this doesn't
28:50
touch you a hat, I don't know if you're paying attention enough,
28:52
you know what I mean. And so this is a really, really, really
28:57
powerful, powerful thing. And one of the other things I wanted
29:02
to tell you again looking at my notes, because I wanted to make
29:05
sure that, you know, going back to one of the things that I that
29:11
he said that I thought was really important. And when He
29:14
said,
29:16
My hope is this, when the walk ends, people we meet will
29:20
continue practicing mindfulness and find peace. Here's what I
29:24
know about us as a people. We get inspired really quick. You
29:29
know? We get a little we're like, a little flash in the pan.
29:31
We get all like, especially in January. I talked about this
29:34
before, right? Oh, January, I'm going to start doing X, Y and Z,
29:37
and then three weeks into it, we lose our fizzle. You know, where
29:41
people sometimes who, and I'm going to do a whole podcast
29:43
about this, about about depth versus width. We can be very
29:49
surfacey as a people, and it's really easy to get caught up in
29:53
the moment, with the with the monks, and be inspired and
29:56
whatever. And then two weeks from now, you forget about it,
29:59
or you feel all inside. Fired, and you're listening to their
30:01
messages, and you're like, Oh yeah, and you're taking
30:03
pictures, and then you go home and you yell at your kids, you
30:05
know what I mean? Or you lose, you lose your mind, and you,
30:08
you're like, spewing hatred on the internet, right? So my hope
30:12
is, what his hope is, is that we take something away from this,
30:16
but we don't just take it away at surface level, that we start
30:19
to embody it, that we really start to embody it, and that we
30:22
start to really live it, because I think it could be so
30:27
important. There's a professor of religious studies at Rhodes
30:32
College in Memphis, and they were saying that these walks
30:36
really inspire people and inspire faith. The core
30:39
intention is to have others watch and be inspired, not so
30:44
much through words, but through how they are willing to make
30:49
this sacrifice by walking and being visible, which leads me to
30:56
this next bit. So again, I always like to do like a deep
31:00
dive, because I know, like I said, I'm feeling inspired like
31:03
my faith in humanity returns when I see living, breathing
31:07
examples of love and peace in this kind of presence, this kind
31:11
of, what I call the five D's, daily dedication, determination,
31:15
discipline and devotion in action. This, to me, is what a
31:18
daily DSP is, a daily spiritual practice is it has these five
31:23
things, the daily dedication, determination, discipline,
31:25
devotion, which these guys are the walking, living, breathing
31:29
example of, right? And so when I was trying to get a little more
31:34
history on this, I found a monk on Instagram. His name is Shen
31:39
Yu and it says monks. He said this, monks have walked for
31:43
peace for centuries, and he said a lot of times, like these guys
31:48
are currently getting a lot of attention, but it's not the
31:50
first walk for peace. He says monks have done this forever.
31:54
They've been done this for centuries, going all the way
31:56
back to the Buddha of course. He says monks have walked for peace
32:00
for centuries, and they walk slowly, humbly and consistently.
32:07
He says, Peace begins with presence, and they teach not by
32:12
speaking, but by how they live. And this goes back to what this
32:18
woman was saying, right? Their core intention is to have others
32:22
watch and be inspired, not so much through words. And he's
32:26
saying this, they don't teach by speaking, but by how they live,
32:29
by their presence. And it makes me think about A Course in
32:32
Miracles when A Course in Miracles says to teach is to
32:35
demonstrate. To teach is to demonstrate by who you are being
32:41
by how you are showing up in the world. This is how we
32:44
demonstrate what we believe, who we are, what we love, right?
32:48
It's like we embody it, and then we just be it. We don't have to
32:53
even, quote, unquote, do it. We just be it. And that's the thing
32:57
about these monks. It's so genuine. It is so stripped away
33:01
of everything. It's not for clicks, it's not for likes, it's
33:04
not for fans, it's not for followers. Yes, they have a
33:07
mission, yes, they have an intention, but it's not about
33:11
them. They're not trying to be a brand, right? And Shen Yu also
33:19
says this. He says this is not a performance, this is a lineage.
33:26
This is an ancient answer, returning when words are no
33:31
longer enough. I'm going to say that again. Listen, this is not
33:37
a performance, this is a lineage. This is an ancient
33:40
answer, returning when words are no longer enough. You know, as a
33:45
yoga teacher, when I see this, I'm like, this is meditation in
33:49
motion. This is devotion in motion. This is prayer in
33:53
motion. This is prayer in action. Action is the voice of
33:58
the heart and every step they take, step by step by step, they
34:03
walk slowly, they walk humbly, they walk consistently. You
34:07
guys, they are leaving spiritual bread crumbs for us to follow.
34:12
Just pay attention. Pay close, close attention, because they
34:17
are teaching us so much. And one of the things they're teaching,
34:23
one of the main messages that panna Karen has told the crowds
34:28
every time that they get together again. I can't stress
34:30
this enough, they're not trying to convert anybody to Buddhism.
34:34
You can be Catholic, you could be Christian, you could be an
34:36
atheist. You can be whatever, and still learn from this. Take
34:40
something from this. You could be a yogi, right? So this is his
34:44
like main message. This is what he says. I'm going to give you
34:48
the short one, and then I'm going to leave you one of the
34:50
longer ones, and then I'll tell you how you can follow these
34:53
guys and see what's going on. So one of the things that panna,
34:57
Karen always says is, today is my. My peaceful day. Today is my
35:03
peaceful day. This is one of the things to meditate upon. And
35:08
these are the instructions that he gave at one of his talks. He
35:11
says, in the morning, is a spiritual mentor and coach. This
35:16
makes me so happy. My people, if you're listening, you know why
35:20
you get this right? He says, in the morning, give your mind a
35:25
job to do. He says, this is very important. Get out a piece of
35:30
paper and a pen. And then he says, Write this down. This is
35:35
what he wants you to write down. Today is going to be my peaceful
35:41
day. Write it down. Today is going to be my peaceful day. He
35:46
says, After writing it, you read it with your eyes over and over
35:53
and over, and then you start to read it out loud, today is going
36:01
to be my peaceful day. Today is going to be my peaceful day.
36:05
Today is going to be my peaceful day. He says, you're telling the
36:09
universe. You tell the universe, today is my peaceful day, and no
36:14
one can mess it up, except for me. He says, believe me, no one
36:21
can mess it up if you're not allowed to, if they're not
36:25
allowed to, nobody else outside of you. He's saying can mess it
36:29
up unless you let them. And he says it's because we've been
36:33
opening our door widely for everyone to come in and mess it
36:37
up. But that's on us. We think, Oh, I've lost my peace because
36:44
of the Renee cook thing, right? That brutal murder, that thing I
36:48
saw on the news, the thing. And I don't mean, I'm not saying the
36:51
thing lightly. It's just we're assaulted every single day our
36:54
nervous system, right? We are assaulted every single day
36:58
through the senses by what we're seeing and hearing and what's
37:01
being crammed on our throats, and all the misinformation and
37:04
the disinformation and all the hatred and all the vitriol, all
37:06
of it, we are bombarded constantly. The doors are wide
37:10
open every time you're on the internet, every time you go on a
37:12
social media app, it's because we're opening the door widely.
37:17
And I always say to my people, I've been saying this for years
37:20
and years and years. Think this was taught to me through my
37:23
teachers, from A Course in Miracles to yoga and beyond,
37:26
right? It's that. It's this. No one, no thing, can take your
37:32
peace away, but you sure, you sure can give it away. Nobody
37:37
can take your peace from you, but you sure as shit can give it
37:41
away, and we do it all the time. And this is one of the reasons
37:45
why a daily spiritual practice is so powerful. He says, Today
37:53
is my peaceful day. That's the wicked short version. And then
37:58
here's the longer version that I'm going to leave you with,
38:01
okay, and then I'll tell you how you can watch this if you've
38:03
been unawares. I love this, and I hope you stick around for the
38:07
whole thing, even if you get ants in your pants, even if you
38:11
think that you have the, you know, what is it? The the
38:16
ability to pay attention, if your attention span, right? They
38:19
keep telling us this. They keep telling us this. They keep not
38:23
only trying to make this true, but they keep trying to
38:26
hypnotize us and program us into believing that we have the
38:29
attention span of butterflies in Goldfish and we can't sit still
38:33
and we can't it's bullshit. Anything that is learned can be
38:37
unlearned. We can unlearn these ways of being. We can come back.
38:41
You know who has attention spans? Readers, people who read.
38:47
Those of us who don't write too long didn't read readers. Stop
38:52
picking up books. Start reading. So if you're still here with me,
38:55
I hope you let me read this whole thing to you. He says
38:59
this,
39:00
this is from again, panna Karen, who is leading the monks who are
39:03
doing the walk for peace right now across the United States. He
39:06
says, Today is going to be our peaceful day. This is the
39:11
beginning. This is like a prayer, right? This is the
39:14
beginning, a fresh start, a new opportunity to live with
39:19
awareness and care. May we be mindful of our breath as it
39:23
flows in and out, anchoring us to this present moment. May we
39:29
be mindful of our daily actions, bringing intention and
39:36
gentleness to everything we do, the words we speak, the way we
39:42
listen, the kindness we offer, even in the smallest gestures,
39:49
may peace shine brightly in our hearts, and from that inner
39:55
light, may compassion flow naturally to. Those who are
40:01
struggling, may loving kindness soften our responses and warm
40:08
our connections, may unity remind us that we are all
40:14
walking this path together, bound by our shared longing for
40:21
a more peaceful world, right? This reminds me of when Ram Dass
40:26
says, right, we're all just walking each other home. Okay?
40:31
He continues. He says, Let us walk together in spirit today,
40:35
wherever we are, wherever you are, and whatever you're doing
40:41
with each mindful breath you take, with each compassionate
40:48
choice you make, you are helping peace bloom more beautifully in
40:54
this world. We are not separate. We are not alone. We are walking
41:02
together, each of us contributing to the garden of
41:06
peace that grows when we tend to our own hearts and extend that
41:13
care outward to everyone around us. Today is our peaceful day.
41:21
Let us live it with awareness, with love, with the
41:25
understanding that every moment we choose peace, we help create
41:32
more peace in the world. I'm going to say this again. Let us
41:39
live with awareness, with love, with the understanding, the
41:43
knowing that every moment we choose peace, we help create
41:49
more peace in the world. And he ends it with this, may you and
41:55
all beings be well, happy and at peace. And that is my wish for
42:04
you also, if you can still hear the sound of my voice, thank you
42:08
so much for sticking with me. I have no idea how long this has
42:12
been, but it was important. It was important to me, and
42:16
hopefully it's important to at least one other person out
42:19
there. But I always say this podcast also is from my ears
42:23
first, right? So that I can remember these things. Remember
42:28
monks have walked for peace for centuries, and we can be a part
42:32
of that. We can walk peacefully through each of our days. We can
42:37
walk peacefully in our own homes and our families and our
42:40
communities and our workplaces, the places we gather. Okay? And
42:46
if you want to follow the monks, if you're had no idea what was
42:50
going on, if you don't already follow them, you can find them
42:53
on Facebook for at, walk for peace USA. Walk for peace USA.
42:59
And on Instagram, it's at, you know, it's their their handle is
43:02
walk for peace period, or dot USA, walk for peace period, USA.
43:10
I hope that this has touched your hat in some way. It's
43:13
landed for you, or just got you excited, because you love the
43:16
monks also. And if you're somebody who has been
43:19
struggling, if you're somebody who has been down, if you're
43:21
struggling, who you know. I think about this when he when he
43:25
says in this that you know, may peace, may compassion flow
43:29
naturally to those who are struggling. I think so many
43:33
people are struggling right now. So many humans and animals are
43:38
struggling and suffering right now. And one of the greatest
43:41
things that we can do is first get our own minds and our own
43:44
hearts right. That's how you change the world by, first of
43:47
all, doing the work on yourself. The work isn't about becoming
43:52
more peaceful or more kind and more loving. That is who you
43:55
already are. That is your natural inheritance. That is
43:58
your birthright. That is who you are you are love, you are
44:01
peaceful, you are kind. The gig is the spiritual. Work is being
44:06
vigilant for when you are unkind. The work is removing the
44:10
blocks and the barriers we created against our own
44:12
awareness of it, our own awareness of love's presence,
44:16
the love that we are the gig is to embody. It to be the peaceful
44:21
presence, so that wherever you walk, whatever room you walk
44:25
into, you are on your own peace walk. You get to be the
44:31
alternative to all the things that you don't like and see all
44:35
the cruelty and violence and hatred. You get to be the loving
44:40
alternative. I think I'm just going to end it with that. Thank
44:45
you so much for being here. Thank you for listening. I'm
44:48
sending you so much love. Bye, bye.